Grace kicked over the corner of a rug, pursing her lips
as a coin was revealed. That was five now.
Some might think her lucky if they did not know the
trick.
𑽇
It’s another day working in
Marchant manor for Grace Beckett, but will today bring something new, exciting…
and vibrant?
In Part 2 of The Country Maid, Grace realises her employer expects high, perhaps impossible standards. The maid throws herself into her tasks and gains a friend in fellow maid Eliza, but can they prove to the rest of the household that they’re capable?
Laundry work during Victorian times
could take the entire day for an ordinary family. With somewhere that also
housed staff, the work was tripled.
The dirty clothes were left to soak overnight. Come morning, the lucky maid tasked with laundry had to get rid of any stains, either scrubbing them over a washboard or using a washing dolly/posser, which was a stick about waist high with little feet and handles. The dolly was placed in the tub’s centre and turned to agitate the clothes in much the same way a washing machine does nowadays. It was hot, sweaty work and it could feel as if there was no air in that muggy laundry room.
“You’ve not made a good start,” Lady Marchant said icily. “Late on your first day.”
Grace stiffened. Part of her wanted to argue, but she
remained silent.
Honey, not vinegar, as her mother said.
We last left Grace steeling herself to meet her employer and the older woman is already annoyed with her! In this companion piece to my 30-part series, The Country Maid, I’ll explain why Lady Marchant wanted a maid from outside the city, Victorian window cleaning and the hidden danger of the servant’s staircase.
“They’re a different sort of folk in the city. Don’t let no-one think they can trick you because you don’t know their ways.”
Earlier this month, The People’s Friend published an interview with me online about my upcoming Victorian Upstairs, Downstairs series The Country Maid. Now, with the first part in this week’s magazine (available online and at most stores) I thought I would post a companion blog. This will showcase my writing process and inspiration alongside an in depth look at story locations and historical research. This will be posted a few days after each part comes out, so you’ll need to read that first before coming here :D
I'm writer of the week! There's a short interview on The People's Friend website discussing one of my short stories which will be in the magazine this week 🙂
Welcome, Kitty! Your story, “Ploughing On” appears in our January 11 issue. Can you tell us about the traditions behind the story?
“Ploughing On” was inspired by the rural celebration of Plough Sunday and Monday, which is believed to have started in the 1400s. Once the twelve days of Christmas were over, on the 6th of January, it was time to get back to work.
To draw out the festivities, labourers would drag their plough through the village and knock on doors for alms (those unwilling to donate would often find their front garden ploughed!). There’d be Morris dancers and a nonsense play about mismatched couples and resurrection. The festivities ended at the local church, where the plough was blessed in the hopes of a plentiful harvest.
Read more at....
Tragedy strikes in the third instalment of A Countryman's Favour... Available until Tuesday in The People's Friend magazine, which can be found in UK newsagents, and the Readly app for overseas readers :) Illustration is by Sailesh Thakrar.
Part Two of A Countryman's Favour is now available in this week's The People's Friend magazine :) Available in UK supermarkets and newsagents as well as the Readly app.
A few bits of good
news for this month! To start with, my six-part serial, A Countryman’s Favour, is in The People’s Friend weekly magazine, which is available in most UK
supermarkets and newsagents and on the Readly app for overseas readers.
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| Illustration by Sailesh Thakrar |
A Countryman's Favour is a romance
family drama following the lives of the Rose sisters as love and tragedy
takes them across Norfolk, from Wheatacre to Great Yarmouth and Norwich. The
story’s plot was heavily inspired by the county’s mustard history and
methodism, when itinerant preachers, known as ranters at the time, would spread the word on Norfolk's village greens.
I’ve also heard
back on my New Year short story, The Mystery of the Ruby Necklace, and it was
accepted! The Sweetest of Dreams was also submitted last week. Hopefully I’ll
hear something soon 😊
That just leaves,
as mentioned last month, The Gingerbread House and Follow the Stars. Follow the
Stars has actually grown a few extra limbs, with the main character’s family
demanding more page space, so I might end up turning this into a longer piece.
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| Gorgeous artwork is by Sailesh Thakrar |
In The Mermaid’s Gift, an old family story about a mermaid encounter brings romance and drama.
♡
“My grandfather, Josiah Young…” he began, coughing as he always did. I once heard Grandmother say to Mum that she always knew the old boy was lying when he coughed, but I didn’t believe that. “…once saw a mermaid.”
In this month's issue of The People's Friend Special is my short story On St Mark's Eve - a folklore romance with rivalry, ghosts and smuggling! Illustration is by Sailesh Thakrar :)
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| Illustration by Mandy Dixon |
As a lookback on my past works, this blog post is going to focus on my short story Lavender and Leeches. This was previously published in The People’s Friend magazine back in 2019.
Alongside it was this lovely illustration by Jim Dewar.
It was my sixth story with the magazine and was heavily inspired by watching reruns of Victorian Pharmacy, a BBC documentary series starring Ruth Goodman where historians recreated working in a 19th century pharmacy.
Other influences came from the pharmacy display at the Bridewell Museum in Norwich, which, while based on a 20th century pharmacy, certainly has a varied and interesting selection of old medicines. There’s even a carboy 😊
It will soon be the one year anniversary of my Regency romance mystery, Lord Winterton’s Secret, published by DC Thomson/The People’s Friend on the 20th of January 2022.
Other versions include a large print edition published by Ulverscroft and a self-published digital edition with the title Curious Governess, Dangerous Lord (which was the original title when the manuscript was first submitted to The People’s Friend!). The kindle version is the author’s original version, without any changes to fit the publisher’s inhouse style or wordcount.
Lord Winterton’s Secret was my first pocket novel. Pocket novels are a series of quick holiday reads, just under 200 pages, with a limited print run. To celebrate the book’s anniversary, I thought I’d write about what inspired me as well as any major changes the story went through during the first draft stage.
With the release of another of my short stories in The People’s Friend magazine, A Light On The Horizon, I’ve decided this blog post will be about my writing process for historical fiction 😊 It’s an adventure romance set on the Norfolk coast with lighthouses, smugglers and a great big storm! Currently available in issue 236 of The People's Friend Special.
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| Gorgeous illustration by Mandy Dixon |
I'm excited to announce another of my pocket novels has been released by The People's Friend :)
