Kay Harker and Cole Hawlings Picture accessed via BBC There are few things more Christmassy than the opening few bars of the theme tune to The Box of Delights . In fact, the tune is based on Victor Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony and had been used in radio adaptations of the same novel years earlier than the 1984 television series. Clearly, everyone already knew that you just couldn't improve on that sound to evoke the magic of Christmas which - for me and for many - is so wonderfully explored in John Masefield's story. As a viewer, one of the things I enjoy most about the television series of The Box of Delights is the acting. Child actors are precarious things: too sweet and they're almost unbearable to watch, not sweet enough and they're unbelievable. They must walk that fine line between the two, and it is a perilous one! Most young actors fall into the first category, where their on-screen presence is almost dangerously saccharine. Not so the child actors ...
It's #HistFicThursdays again, and this week I'm thrilled to be sharing a guest post from Craig R. Hipkins, as part of his Coffee Pot Book Club tour. Find out what research drew him into the world of Clement and Dagena, Viking exploration, and linguistic adventures...
Blurb
Clement & Dagena return for another action packed adventure. From the cold and dreary shores of Greenland to the fabled land of Vinland. The legendary treasure of the Knights Templar awaits.
Clement: The Templar's Treasure is available via this Universal Link
Guest Post
Clement: The Templar’s Treasure is set in the middle of the 12th century. This was at the height of the age of chivalry when the troubadours sang their poetry and martial tournaments were the rage over all Europe. Although the first book in the Clement series concentrated on historical elements related to the continent, the second and third installments took Clement far away from the kingdoms of Europe. However, chivalry, a common theme in the series followed Clement to Greenland and then to North America.
I have always been fascinated by the Norse voyages of Erik the Red and Leif Erikson. I used the knowledge I have of them to good advantage in the book. The Norse sagas mention a land west of Greenland which Leif called ‘Vinland,’ where the wild grapes grew in abundance. I conveniently used this place as the final destination for Clement and his friends. I was aware of a theory that historians have debated for decades regarding the location of Vinland. Grapes do not grow anywhere the Norse were known to have explored. A possible solution to this conundrum is that Leif and his men had traveled as far south as Cape Cod in Massachusetts. It is here where there are cranberry bogs. It is therefore plausible that Leif mistook the cranberry as a wild grape. This theory makes sense, but absolute proof that Vinland and Cape Cod are the same is lacking.
Another topic that I researched while writing this novel involved the indigenous culture in Massachusetts Bay at this time. I did take a little literary license regarding the native tribes, as not much is known about the Wampanoag and Nipmuck nations before the English colonized Massachusetts in the early 17th century. It is from this time period that I immersed myself in reading. I studied the day-to-day existence of life in New England prior to European settlement and used this knowledge in great detail in my book. It was a bit of a challenge, but I took great pleasure in bringing these details to light. The Wampanoag and Nipmuck spoke a dialect of Algonquin, a language that is now all but extinct. However, certain words have survived through the generation and have made their way into the English lexicon. Of course, like any language, it is almost certain that the Algonquin tongue evolved over time and that the few words I took the liberty of using in the book probably did not exist in the 12th century.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the hours of research that I spent while working on Clement: The Templar’s Treasure. I hope that people will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Now, let's meet the author:
You can follow Craig on these links:
Thank you so much for hosting the blog tour for Clement: The Templar’s Treasure.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Mary Anne
The Coffee Pot Book Club
My pleasure! This series looks fantastic!
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