April 3rd 2012 - theresatomlinson@talk21.com
Having been to the Hockney Exhibition, I’ve come back insired. It’s so lovely to see the images of Yorkshire being enjoyed by so many and how wonderful that someone his age can be so prolific, produce such vibrant work and embrace new technology. I have never wanted it before, but now I want an i-pad - perhaps it would work well for book illustrations. After all the warm weather the hedgerows around Whitby are bursting into blossom and turning it into Hockney land!
1st March World Book Day 2012
I’ve had a lovely morning visiting St Hilda’s Primary School in Whitby - with both the children, the teachers and myself dressed as fisherwomen and fishermen. We talked about stories from local history and the many brave rescues made by lifeboatmen, both in the past and present. It’s inspiring to find children so young full of questions and ideas and interested in the past, present and future. For the first time ever I was asked by a primary scool child if one of my books was available as an e-book - I was pleased to be able to tell them that it was, but along with the teachers that I met this morning, I do so hope that printed paper books will be with us ever!
17th February 2012 - contact me by email - theresatomlinson@talk21.com
I have long been a fan of Kathleen Herbert’s books, Ghost in the Sunlight, Bride of the Spear and Queen of the Lightening, they are all set in the Anglo-Saxon period that I find so interesting. I have treasured, well worn copies of all the books, but they have been out of print for a number of years now and so I was very pleased to see that Trifolium Books now plan to reprint them along with a newer book by the same author.
Trifolium Books are also flying the flag - or raising the sword - for the dark ages by publishing Carla Nayland’s PATHS OF EXILE an exciting novel telling of the early adventures of King Eadwine of Deira. Carla Nayland is working on a sequel and I look forward to reading it very much - find my review of Paths of Exile below.
“We are so short of historical fiction set in the period known as the ‘dark ages’ that it is always a pleasure to discover a new book, and this one does not disappoint. PATHS OF EXILE tells the story of Eadwine of Deira, over the crucial period when he was driven from his home by Athelferth of Bernicia. Eadwine is forced to flee with a small band of loyal companions and we see his struggle to survive and revenge his brother’s murder. The dialogue is sharp and realistic and the pace is fast, but with quiet, thoughtful periods that add depth to the characters. Carla Nayland doesn’t shrink from gritty descriptions of the harsh conditions of life at that time and we get a vivid picture of the chaos and uncertainty that must have followed defeat in battle and exile into uncertain territory. There is a gentle love story, with heart-breaking moments and some strong women characters. This is a ‘rights of passage’ story and the reader sees Eadwine as he matures and comes to make life-changing decisions and understand the true nature of loyalty. Carla Nayland’s research is impeccable, but at the same time she does not overload us with historical detail. The picture we are given of people struggling to survive amongst warring cultures, land disputes and different languages, must surely have relevance to us today. I like the authors note at the end, which explains the difficulties of setting a story in this period and the historical basis of the story, as opposed to the rich imagination required to fill in the many gaps.”
Trifolium Books - www.trifoliumbooks.co.uk/
On a hot sunny day last summer we were given a guided tour of West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village. Our enthusiastic guide was an experimental archaeologist and though the tour was meant to last an hour we were still bombarding her with questions 2 hours later. This is a fascinating place, often used by re-enactment groups, where houses are built on the footprints of ancient buildings, using different techniques. The houses are then used and lived in, in an attempt to discover more about the time and how the buildings might have worked. Sometimes these experiments fail, sometimes they succeed and more can be learnt from the failures than the successes.
Each dwelling has a hearth with a glowing fire which is regularly lit, giving a vivid idea of the smoky atmosphere, the colour and textures that would develop with different kinds of wood - seasoned or unseasoned. The scents and smells of food, herbs, animals give a vivid impression of everyday life in the Dark Ages.
contact me on - email theresatomlinson@talk21.com
www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/weststow/
Steve Sherlock’s discovery of a royal 6th Century burial in a farmer’s field at Streethouse, Boulby spurred my imagination and fuelled my interest in this period even further. A very high status female burial was found surrounded by 109 other graves, set out roughly in a square, with the princess burial in the middle. Exquisite gold and garnet jewelry was found and the fittings from an iron bed with shell-like patterns- something very rare and unique in the north of England.The possible dates range from 650 - 670 AD ( the period when St Hilda ruled her double monastery of monks and nuns at Whitby and the time of the famous Synod of Whitby) though the archaeologist believes the Streethouse burial to have been pagan.Who the wealthy group of people were who lived there close to the sea for a time, is still a mystery. As a child I lived at Carlin How in a house that looked over Skinningrove valley towards Boulby and I can remember looking in that direction, fascinated by electricity pilons that seemed to march across the hillside looking like rows of crosses. It’s wonderful to think that for all those years this secret lay buried there. I have various theories as to who the princess was - possibly Cynewise, the elderly pagan Queen of Mercia, who may have been brought to Deira for safe-keeping with her entourage after Oswy king of Northumbria had killed her husband. Or possibly the wife of a foreign prince who’d been given temporary refuge. We may never know the answer, but there is now a wonderful permanent exhibition at Kirkleatham Museum.
www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/
One of the lovliest areas I’ve visited in my search for information on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms is Bamburgh Castle and Lindisfarne. We stayed for a blissful week of long light days in a cottage on the island, during the month of June, when the weather was wonderful. The presence of the sea in all directions and the rule of the tide bring a magical atmosphere to the place, along with the wonderful sea-birds and wildlife that thrive there - we saw a humming-bird moth, sipping nectar from flowers. Each evening the faint sorrowful sounds of wailing seals could be heard drifting over from the sandbanks, where the creatures congregated.
We were also lucky enough to be there when a talk was given in Bamburgh village hall by the ongoing Archaeology Project - of course the castle that now stands on the dramatic rock looking over the sea, is not what would have been there in the period that I’ve been researching, but there would have been an important fortress in the same place, with a King’s Hall and more is being learnt all the time from the work of the project.
www.bamburghresearchproject.co.uk
Welcome to my new blog - I mean to start by posting a few messages explaining what I’ve been doing over the past two or three years. Following publication of my Young Adult novel WOLF GIRL I became quite fascinated by the idea of writing stories inspired by the history of the early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms - often using Bede as my starting point.
For me this has been a wonderfully exciting project and it has taken me to many interesting places - Yeavering Bell, in Northumberland, Sutton Hoo near Woodbridge in Suffolk, West Stow Anglo-Saxon village and Tamworth Castle - but as yet the project has not had publishing success - though I do not give up hope with that!
