Where Wind in the Willows Began

Ellen and I love the little seacoast town of Fowey, Cornwall. We came here for Daphne du Maurier but soon discovered another wonderful writer who is also locally celebrated — Kenneth Grahame.

Kenneth was a regular, frequent visitor who loved to "mess about in boats." It was from Fowey that he wrote letters home to his young son, Alison, with tales about a mole and a badger and a water rat and a toad and . . . well, you know.

It's not hard to see why a writer-inside-the-suit-of-a-Secretary-of-the-Bank-of-England would want to escape to a place like this.

Visit/return to my main website

Cornwall is Daphne Du Maurier Country

When I was a young adult, there were no Young Adult books. But dear to my teenaged heart were the moody, suspenseful novels of Daphne du Maurier. Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, Jamaica Inn.

They were set on the craggy, windswept coast of Cornwall and were thick with atmosphere. Ellen and I happily spent a few charmed days in the tiny town of Fowey, where Daphne lived and wrote.

Visit/return to my main website

Dropping in on Agatha

Ellen and I grew up on Poirot and Miss Marple, and my first published novels were mysteries, so we decided to drop in on Agatha Christie at her Devon home. A lovely old house called Greenway. Broody skies seemed appropriate for a weekend gathering of suspicious guests . . .

Lots of Christie memorabilia inside. I enjoyed this portrait of young Agatha, looking sulky. Or maybe just feeling exhausted at the thought of the 66 novels and 13 volumes of short stories she had to write?

I liked her toilet too. Agatha’s ebony loo! Her second husband was an archeologist whom she accompanied on digs in Egypt. Apparently this was the one item she absolutely HAD to take along.

Visit/return to my main website 

Where Jane Lived

It’s sunny and serene here in Jane Austen country (Chawton, Hampshire), but of course there are plenty of undercurrents. Here’s the “cottage” where Jane lived with her mother, sister and a friend for the last years of her life, rent-free courtesy of her brother Edward. She wrote most of the great novels here.

And here is where Edward lived. Called “lucky Edward,” he was adopted by rich relations and inherited not only this grand estate at Chawton but also two others. Servants, tenants, income, etc. 

Jane was grateful for the use of the library in the big house. And she was happy to live in the smaller house where she shared a bedroom with sister Cassandra. Here’s the tiny desk where she wrote those novels. 

Visit/return to my main website

Upstairs & Down in Dickens’ House

This trip just gets better and better. Today we wandered all over three-floors-plus-cellar of the house where Charles Dickens and his family lived for many years — a treasury of Dickens’s manuscripts, letters, furniture, possessions, portraits and books.

Here’s his much-used desk, which seems to be still waiting for another fat novel.  Made my heart skip a beat!

Visit/return to my main website

Hanging Out with Sherlock

I’m not sure what I expected at 221B Baker Street, London. I think that, like so many people, I was confusing Sherlock Holmes with his creator. Some part of my brain thought we’d be visiting the home of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Ahem! Not so. The address where Ellen and I fetched up, was — of course — the fictional home of a fictional detective. And in fact, when Conan Doyle gave Holmes that particular address, it didn't even exist! (It has since been fudged by city planners.) But what the heck, we were already there, right? Might as well take a peek. Inside, we found a motley collection of Victoriana, along with some spookily arranged wax figures. 

They did, however, offer some fun photo ops . . .

What stood out for us at 221B Baker Street were the line-ups — tourists chatting in various languages, having come, apparently, from around the globe. Sherlock lives! And he is very much loved, even after so many years, and in spite of his author's attempt to kill him off! (But that's another story.)

An Unexpected Thrill at the Globe!

Today the gods of theatre were on our side.

We took a tour of Shakespeare’s Globe to see what a recreated 16th century theatre looks like. Fascinating! I wish I had more photos, but cameras were allowed only outside:

The surprise came when our guide led us into the theatre with instructions to be quiet  — a rehearsal was in progress. We slipped into seats and watched an actor with large fake ears talk to a puppet. Something familiar about that actor . . . and about the dialogue too. As we watched, the lights blinked on in my brain. The actor was Mark Rylance, so brilliant as the Cold War spy in “Bridge of Spies” (Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, 2016). And the dialogue? It was Roald Dahl’s book, the “The BFG.”

We watched for ten minutes as one master of his craft interpreted another. Serendipity!

Visit/return to my main website

Where Virginia Walked

In London, we’re staying at the Tavistock Hotel on Tavistock Square, where Virginia Woolf once lived and worked. The square is lovely and has a small tribute to Virginia.

It includes a quote in which she says that she imagined TO THE LIGHTHOUSE while walking around this small square. 

Here’s where she walked. 

Visit/return to my main website

Treasure in the British Library

Today a visit to the British Library, home to the most ASTONISHING collection of famous original writing you can imagine. The Magna Carta. Shakespeare’s Folios. The Beatles’ lyrics scribbled in orange crayon. The Gutenberg Bible. Alice in Wonderland with Lewis Carroll's sketches. The teensy handwriting of the Brontes’ childhood stories. Priceless artifacts you can gaze at for FREE! (It’s a library.)

Ellen and I staggered out afterwards, blinking like owls. No photos allowed, of course. Except for this brilliant bench in the lobby!

Visit/return to my main website

Visiting the Marys — Wollstonecraft & Shelley

Today Ellen and I visited the tombstone of Mary Wollstonecraft, mother of Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein. Wollstonecraft died when her daughter was only 11 days old, and the grave is famously the place where young Mary came to “be with Mama." Her father, she said, taught her to read by tracing the letters on this stone. It’s in the graveyard of Old St. Pancras Church in London.

I thought about this tombstone so often in creating my own book, Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein. How amazing to be here! The letters, carved in 1797, are very worn now . . . but still visible.

Visit/return to my main website

Ellen and Linda Go on a Pilgrimage

Last stages of planning as my pal Ellen and I get ready for our Great Literary Pilgrimage!

For years I have waved goodbye to friends who were doing the regular sort of pilgrimages, e.g. walking the Camino. I sometimes considered tagging along. But then I realized . . . . I don't like walking that much. What I like is reading, and it turns out that the pilgrimage I need is a journey to the homes, graves, haunts and hang-outs of writers I have loved. If I'm going to walk, I will walk in their footsteps. Ellen, also a writer, feels the same.

So next week we fly to London, where we begin our search. Austen, the Brontes, the Shelleys, Shakespeare, Carroll, Conan Doyle . . . just for starters.  More anon!


Visit/return to my main website

Booklist Interview with Me & Júlia Sardà

The editors of Booklist have chosen Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein as their 2018 Top of the List Picture Book. I feel enormously honoured. 

As part of this choice, the Booklist editors asked Julia Smith to interview Júlia Sardà and me about our processes in writing and illustrating Mary. For me, this was very exciting. I have written almost twenty picture books and have been lucky to have them illustrated by some superbly talented illustrators. Some of these illustrators I know well, but most I have never met. This is the first time an interviewer has ever asked me and an illustrator to answer the same questions about our shared creation. As I have never met Júlia, who lives in Barcelona, this was an incredible opportunity for me to get a glimpse into her process. I loved reading her responses — as thoughtful, insightful and unique as her art — and I hope to meet her one day. You can find the interview at:

https://www.booklistonline.com/Top-of-the-List-Interview-Linda-Bailey-and-J-lia-Sard-/pid=9714234?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 

Visit/return to my main website