This week, we finally managed to install our new (not new ) item of furniture - a mid-18th Century grandfather clock. It's not bright and shiny like more modern ones, but a dark oak with a warm patina which the beeswax polish is drawing out. In order to set it up, we had to do a certain amount of research - how to hang the pendulum, where the weight went on the endless chain - and it got me thinking... where and when did certain divisions of time come from? The time periods which I have written either had household clocks or didn't, I have not written novels from the time of their invention. Clocks have been around for a long time, and the obsession with measuring time in an ordered fashion dates back to at least the ancient Sumerians. It was they who established a circular reading of time and, I imagine, the sixty seconds/minutes came about as much because it was an easy way to divide a circle as anything else. But it wasn't until much later that the precision of seconds ...
I've always been interested in Americana, although that comes in waves, so occasionally I'll be poring over the biographies of various presidents and then the following week my fascination has waned completely. It does mean that I was reasonably familiar with the Civil War background of the book, which made me very enthusiastic to read it. It is grounded in American history - and of course it should be: Freedom for Me is inspired by the true story of a young Chinese man who signed up to fight for the north in the American Civil War. More than complex military strategy or groundbreaking historical moments, this is the story of one boy's decision to fight, and how his reasons for fighting mature and develop over time. I loved reading about how Thomas, the main character, began to learn about himself in the context of others. His closest relationship is with his brother, but he develops deep and meaningful friendships with his brothers-in-arms and with an runaway slave, Sam....