☝ The story behind the Pied Piper 👆 I know I've shared my take on the traditional legend of the Pied Piper (above!) before, so here's a little story about the legacy of that legend. This is one of the early adventures of Frederik, a young pilgrim on his way to Rome, and all he encounters in the town of Hameln, some years after the legendary events... Of All The Pleasant Sights They See (first published in Hooded:Hidden) February was a cold month. Not only cold, but dark too. But the further he travelled, the longer the days became. Back at home, this change was slower. Frederik had tried only to travel in daylight. At first, he had believed his destination could be reached in a handful of weeks. After all, Father Willehad received news within the month it had been written. But his letters were delivered by emissaries on horseback. On foot it took much longer. Weeks had been an optimistic aim. And then he had become lost. Frederik had arrived in The Empire close to Advent, mak
The history of the written word is fascinating. It is largely easy enough to come across in the form of books and pamphlets, and through these we can get an idea of how society was structured - at least from the top downwards!
But the best writing to tell you the truth about someone, comes in the form of letters.
Over the years, I've collected many letters - some personal to me, others from and to complete strangers. As you might have gathered, we are a family of hoarders when it comes to history. There are letters from businessmen to clients, from parents to children, and from partner to partner. They provide a wonderful insight into the normality of life, something which I feel has helped me to better form my characters in my head so that, although these letters might never make the page, I know the backdrop to their conversations: what they chose to write about and what matters to them when they are at a distance from one another.
One letter which did make it into my writing was from the physician Henry Thompson to his little daughter, Kit. For so accomplished a man, it was refreshing and magical to read his words on another level as he wrote to his child from his new position in Brussels. The humanity shines out of his words, as does his humour, and I feel I have come to see a side to him that few people knew, all from the letter.
And then there's the handwriting. When Day's Dying Glory went out to its Beta Readers (a very scary experience for a debut book!) one of the enduring comments made was in praise of the line:
‘Miss Imogen,’ she read, in a hand that was alarmingly angular and aggressive.
The artistry of handwriting can be used as surely as any other feature to tell readers a lot about the writer. Is the letter hurried? Are the words meticulously formed? Has someone toyed with new and interesting styles of writing?
Below are parts of a couple of letters I've collected over the years. Imagine the hands which wrote them, the eyes which read them, and the hearts and minds united over them... Instant characters, settings, and relationships!
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