Writing – Page 2 – I Walk Alone

Research Rabbit Hole ~ East Street & The Ditches 1935

East Street looking towards St Mary’s Street 1930s

Known locally as the Ditches, Southampton’s East Street and Canal Walk play an important part in my latest novel, A Dish Best Served Cold. East Street dates back to the days of the medieval town when it led from English Street (now the High Street) to Bag Row (now St Mary’s Street) and linked the medieval town with the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Hamwic. Of course, modern-day East Street is nothing like the street in my novel. The Southampton blitz saw to that.

My top indie reads of 2022

Writers usually begin life as readers. My love of books began long before I could read, with bedtime stories and Sunday mornings in Mum and Dad’s bed, with Dad reading chapters of books aloud. In fact, it was why I wanted to learn to read. One chapter at a time was never enough. If I could read, I could keep going until the end. Soon, visits to the children’s library became the highlight of my week. This year I have been mainly reading other independent authors, and boy, what wonderful stories I’ve discovered. Such a change from the formulaic tomes churned out by the big publishing houses. Anyway, for my last post of the year, I thought I’d share some of my favourites with you. I’ve included the links, so you can read along if you like.

Sneak preview ~ A Dish Best Served Cold

You may have noticed that I’ve been quiet for the last couple of weeks. This is partly down to a horrible cold and a great deal of snuggling under a blanket, feeling sorry for myself whilst coughing and sneezing. I have also been busy reading through proofs and approving cover designs for my next novel, A Dish Best Served Cold. The book is set in Southampton in 1935 and features, amongst other things, a famous gold robbery at Croydon Airport. I promise I will tell you more about the research that went into this book later, but for now, I will give you a sneak preview to whet your appetite.

Research rabbit hole ~ population control 1931

Daisy Woodman, the inspiration for my third book, Seventh Daughter, was the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. She was one of nine children, and her mother, Florence Weaver, was one of eleven. Large families were nothing out of the ordinary in the early 1900s, but family sizes decreased dramatically in the first half of the twentieth century. Today, a seventh daughter would be a very rare thing indeed, and this is, in part, due to a book, Married Love, written by Marie Stopes in 1918. Marie Stopes’ book didn’t contain any new or revolutionary information about contraception, it simply made it available to the masses.

Research rabbit hole ~ 1931, the oldest profession

Being a writer means stepping out of your comfort zone and trying to understand other people’s lives and motivations. Nancy, one of the main characters in Seventh Daughter, was a prostitute, and my research into her backstory uncovered many interesting facts and tales. For instance, East Street was the home of Southampton’s brothels in medieval times. They were known as ‘the stews’ because they had hot air or vapour baths, and the authorities tolerated them because the fines levied against the women and their customers were an excellent source of income. On December 19th, 1544, they were closed after a series of incidents and disturbances. This didn’t stop prostitution in the town. Instead, it moved it to other locations.

Research rabbit hole ~ 1931 midwives and handywomen

People often ask me how I come up with the ideas for my books. Usually, I say research into my family tree inspired them, but that’s only part of the story. Inspiration comes from many strange places. Sometimes I stumble upon intriguing things by accident, like the story of Eugenia Falleni, and they spark parts of a story or a character. Other times, the idea is there, but the research brings the characters to life. In Seventh Daughter, one character, Mabel, was an unqualified midwife, known back then as a handywoman, and another, Winnie, was a midwife. Researching the role of midwives and handywomen in the 1930s really helped me develop the characters of Mabel and Winnie.

Research rabbit hole ~ The Great Depression

The years of the Great Depression were hard for the working classes of Southampton. They had no control over what was happening, and most had little understanding of the causes. The Roaring Twenties had bypassed them. Men working in low-paid, insecure jobs, had no money for frivolity or playing the stock market. They lived from hand to mouth at the best of times. Sadly, the depression, when it came, did not bypass them. Lives that had always been hard became harder. There was little for it but to carry on as best they could. This is the world the characters in Seventh Daughter inhabited, and researching the political and economic climate in 1931 led me down some interesting rabbit holes.

War, peace and Canada geese

Back in May 2022, I was in the middle of a WIP set during the Southampton blitz, so the prospect of a VE day flypast by vintage World War II planes got me quite excited. Reports in the Daily Echo suggested there would be lots of planes, including Spitfires. By now, I should know not to believe the things I read in the Echo without double checking, but anticipation overcame scepticism and on Sunday 8 May, Commando, CJ and I found ourselves on Town Quay with a crowd of other Echo believers, eagerly awaiting the planes. To be frank, there was an air of cynicism amongst the crowd. Flypasts are often promised and the combination of ancient planes and unpredictable weather means they are not always delivered.

Research rabbit hole – drugs 1931

From Welcome Collection – empty opium tincture bottle England 1880 – 1940

One of the first research rabbit holes I fell down when researching for Seventh Daughter involved drugs. Not the recreational kind, you understand, the lower working classes generally used alcohol for that in the 1930s. Prior to the Great War, there were no restrictions on opium, cocaine, or cannabis, but people used them medicinally rather than recreationally. The public were free to dose themselves as they saw fit, and with no NHS, they turned to pharmacists for advice. The Poisons and Pharmacy act of 1908 allowed pharmacists to sell what they wished to who they wished as long as they recorded names and addresses in a poisons register where necessary. When war broke out, shops sold medical kits as presents for soldiers going to the front. These included opium and cocaine for use as pain relief, drugs most men would have been familiar with.

Research Rabbit Hole – Southampton Parks 1926

The town of Southampton was once surrounded by ancient fields where townspeople grew crops in summer and grazed animals in winter. By law, all crops had to be harvested by 1 August, Lammas Day, so the fields were called Lammas Lands. In 1844, the Marsh Improvement Act allowed the council to drain the Saltmarsh around the new Terminus Station. To compensate the townspeople for losing this common grazing land, the council agreed to turn the other Lammas Lands into parks. The Central Parks were laid out in the late 1850s, and old OS maps of the time show the layout has changed very little since. Southampton’s wonderful parks are still a prominent feature to this day, and they also feature in many of my books. Making sure I got things right required a good deal of research.

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