So why did I embark on a novel set in medieval times?
By late 2013, although I’d thoroughly enjoyed writing all five books for young people, I felt I was in danger of falling into a literary rut: four books set in Newfoundland, bullying either the main theme or an important thread in all of them. Time for a change. Time for a new challenge.
Be careful what you ask for, says the proverb, because you might get it.
I’d always been fascinated by the medieval period. Long ago, I visited the art collection at The Cloisters in New York City, and I’d read William Golding’s “The Spire,” about the construction of a medieval cathedral. Since then, I’ve been to Chartres Cathedral (overwhelming darkness shot through with light and colour); to Paris’s Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chappelle and Musée de Cluny, which houses the exquisite tapestries of The Lady and the Unicorn; and I’d mulled over the National Gallery’s medieval collection in London.
I started reading much more widely; fortunately, nearby Dalhousie University has an extensive medieval collection. I bought titles I knew I’d be referring to over and over again. Another bookshelf jammed.
For the setting, I wanted to revisit Berkshire, the county where I was born, and asked my son if he’d do the driving – safer for all concerned. In September of 2014, off we went. First to Wales to see a restored medieval village, then to southern Berkshire, where we navigated a maze of roundabouts, hump-backed bridges and winding lanes, and I explored fields, villages, rivers and churches. My son got used to the glazed look in my eyes.
Back home, more reading, reading now informed by the trip. Vaguely, the arc of the story began to shape itself.
And in January of 2015, I opened a file on my laptop and typed the first few words.
Image of the Luttrell Psalter courtesy of the British Library