The thought of a drowned village is compelling. It grabs hold of our imaginations and does not let go. The waters are serene; the sun sparkles off ripples as Canada Geese swoop in to land. The purple-blooming moors of the hilltops descend into pine woods, the trees reaching the shoreline;… Read More »The Drowned Village of Thores-Cross by Karen Perkins
Until I started researching the late Victorian theater for my latest book, Moriarty Brings Down the House, I had never heard of such a thing as a Christmas pantomime. Fellow Americans may be thinking, “Why should you have?” while British readers are thinking, “What?! How is that even possible?” It… Read More »Christmas Pantomimes by Anna Castle
Haworth has a great deal to offer today’s visitors, including a working steam railway, the iconic cobbled high street (thankfully lined by a myriad of interesting shops and teashops that provide very pleasant rest stops along the climb), and of course wonderful walks through the stunning moorland that makes up… Read More »Haworth Then and Now by Karen Perkins
I’ve always loved a long soak in a hot tub, especially with some fragrant salts or oils added to the mix. I’m not alone! Tolkien wrote a poem about the pleasures of the bath, “Sing hey for the bath at the end of the day.” He seems to be channeling… Read More »Ah, the spa! A short history of the long soak, by Anna Castle
If you write a mystery series set in Regency England, eventually you will have to send your sleuth down to Brighton, the seaside playground of the Prince Regent and his cohorts, because the possibilities for crime are too tempting to resist. Those bathing machines and bathhouses used for taking the… Read More »Taking the Cure in Regency Brighton by Libi Astaire