This week has been a mad one. Close to the start of the Christmas period, we found out that Mum would be having a thyroidectomy on Candlemas (the final day of the Christmas season). Of course, this was not enough to spoil Christmas. As readers of this blog are no doubt aware, Christmas happens in a big way in this house. But when the day finally arrived it was nonetheless met with, if not fear, definite nervousness. I'm pleased to say that the procedure seems to have been a great success! And wouldn't it have been? Thyroid treatment has been developing for over four thousand years. You know me - somewhat obsessed with putting doctors, nurses, physicians and surgeons in my historical fiction - I made a (very brief) wander into the realms of researching the topic. I was surprised by the results. The earliest I could find a reference to treatments for thyroid issues (in this instance a goitre) came in 2697BC, when the legendary Yellow Emperor recorded the use of seaweed in treati...
There is a line in the remake of The Parent Trap when the man (who owns a vineyard) is showing his former wife his collection of special wines: "I'm a man of limited interests". That is sort of like me with books! I have accumulated quite a few old books and it's not just because I love books.
Our oldest complete book is the one above. It predates most of the settings for my books, the Jacobites, and the Great Fire of London. There is something very exciting about thinking about the different people who have read it over the years! I got it because it links in with one of our family's favourite books, The Children of Green Knowe.
And then there are books which directly impact on my own writing. My sister bought me a first edition of Walter Scott's Ballads and Lyrical Pieces, a book which is gifted in my own story Day's Dying Glory. It is amazing to be able to hold the book, getting an idea of things beyond the words: the weight of the paper; the size of the margins where short notes can be written; the intricate swirls and colours of the cover's inside...
And, of course, there are those old books which indulge other aspects of my interests. These interests - as mentioned in last week's blog - go on to inspire my writings in one way or another.
So I think it is not only sensible but also right to gather old books, and certainly a great source of inspiration for an historical fiction writer. Not only do we get to hold the same object we are setting into the hands of our characters, we also get to see the stories and the instructions people received through books then. Remember: all these books were an inspiration to someone back in the day too, or they would never have been published!
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