Today's #HistFicThursdays blog comes from Judith, who is reviewing Tom Palmer 's fabulous book, Angel of Grasmere . Read on, to see what she thought... Picture from Tom's website, here: https://tompalmer.co.uk/angel-of-grasmere/ The Angel of Grasmere: From Dunkirk to Grasmere is a middle-grade novel by Tom Palmer. I came to read this book in a surprising sort of way. Having just taken up a post as an English teacher at the local High School, I was informed that each class has a session in the library every three weeks. The kind but terrifyingly organised librarian told me that my third-years had missed their last library session, so she had kindly slotted on into my first week with them. This was an absolute godsend as, last thing on a Thursday, it was lovely for me and the rest of the class to just sit with a book. It being November, there was a Book Week Scotland display up in the library, full of books which involved the theme of Hope. One of them, The Angel of Grasm...
For NaNoWriMo last year, I wrote a book called The Stonemason's Crown. This was in part inspired by a discovery I made whilst poring over a map. It was not an old map, but a map of old things using LiDAR technology. For Christmas, my sister got me a copy of that map, printed on metal and zoomed in on the very spot where my story was set.
Maps give an amazing insight. Not only do they point out landmarks which are sometimes long gone and forgotten, they also show how people reacted with - and believed in - the world where they lived. Where would our imaginations be without etched sea serpents, or "Here Be Dragons" on the edges of these documents? Time was I would only read books which had a map in them. I've got a little bit more accepting now, but I still get a real buzz as a reader to find a beautiful map tucked into the opening pages of a book.
My dad loves maps. Consequently, I have always found them fascinating. He has quite a collection, some which are hundreds of years old, including a (somewhat sooted up!) 17th Century map of part of the country which is in need of a deep clean before anything can be properly made out. But what a great spark for the imagination, wondering who would have had it made and for what purpose. It is the human side of the past which speaks to historical fiction writers and readers, and there are dozens of stories to every point on every map.
Because much of what I write is now set in the real world, I have to admit to largely overlooking the need for maps, but maybe it is time to hand-draw one and see if I can include it in one of my books. Perhaps, if The Stonemason's Crown is ever published, there will be one in there...
Comments
Post a Comment