It must have been hard for the real Edward Elliott to understand his cousin Louisa’s folly. For a few years at least they had lived in the same household, and no doubt shared similar experiences. He was a cousin, yes, but I saw him standing in the role of elder brother and protector to Louisa…
13: Victorian Stigmas
Thanks to Edward, the backdrop to the main story was suddenly upfront. The action I’d envisaged – the lead up to WW1 and its subsequent horrors – was thrust away into the future, definitely not required at the moment. My mother’s recollections had painted a gentle, religious man who had brought up three children not…
10: Tales from the Census
Chatting all the way to York, my new friend and I went into the Library. In the Reference section, Lena asked to view some 19th century census returns, while I asked for local trade directories. According to my mother, Edward and Louisa had been brought up in York where their parents ran a public house….
9: Chance or Fate?
When I met my new friend that afternoon, Lena was still shaking her head over the prompt which led her to Otley Museum. Impulse, it seemed, was foreign to her nature. A methodical woman, Lena had taken her experience as a legal secretary into the field of family history. Nowadays, with TV programmes like Who…
8: Did I Really Have To Go Out?
The magnetic pull of that WW1 diary was stronger than ever. I’d had plenty of time to think during those endless weeks at sea, and had already begun a prologue. Will’s personal background was essential, and I had to describe how his parents met. Today I’d call it back-story, and would probably keep it in…
6: WW1, Hardy & Tolstoy
On my next visit to York, the First World War was almost all I talked about. It did not occur to me that Grandma’s interest might not match my enthusiasm, but after days of this she was flagging before the onslaught. Eventually she handed me Will’s little diary and said I could borrow it –…