To London and Back

Hello all,

I am back from a two-week research trip to England. I searched out information on Russel Square, Charles Dickens and Shrewsbury for a non-fiction biography I’m writing, and I searched out information in Winchester, Torquay and Oxford for my Emma Dakin series.

This is The Grand in Torquay where Agatha Christie stayed. I stayed there myself and was surprised to find it an Art Nouveau hotel. I’d expected a Victorian one for some reason. It was a lovely place, still as elegant as it was in Agatha’s day.

Winchester was an interesting small city. I attended evensong in The Winchester Cathedral and managed to button-hole the Dean to answer questions I needed to know for a book on the process of divorce in 1843. She knew the answer and gave me an email address to pursue more information. It’s amazing who will talk to you when you’re researching.

Shrewsbury in Shropshire was another small city where I got good information. The librarians in the Museum Archives provided me with the parish records of St. Chad’s Church for the late 1700 to about 1820. I learned quite a lot about the family I’m researching. The church is still there and is a fascinating round shape. Apparently, that shape wasn’t popular when it was designed and the parishioners objected. The architect basically told them they were stuck with it, and so they were.

Now, I have a mountain of writing to do.