Nicola Cornick

Georgian and Regency Country House Pursuits

Nicola — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:02:35 +0000

Today at the Word Wenches I am blogging about Georgian and Regency Country House pursuits. From sporting activities to needlework and painting watercolours, from card games to shellwork, life in the Regency country house was a great deal less dull than some contemporary writers implied. Drop in to the Word Wenches to see just how much fun it could be!

Forbidden!

Nicola — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:42:13 +0000

I am super-excited about the release of Forbidden, the sixth and final book in the Scandalous Women of the Ton series later this year, and now the countdown has started! I’ve posted a special excerpt here on my website to give everyone a taster of Margery’s story. To read all about Margery’s rags to riches tale and check out the extract just click on the link. There will be lots more about Margery and her Cinderella tale – and Henry, her Forbidden Prince Charming! – over the next few months. PLUS there will be additional characters from the Scandalous Women series who will be featuring in their own special free short stories here on the website! More details coming soon…

Interview and Giveaway

Nicola — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:59:20 +0000

Today wonderful historical author Bronwen Evans is hosting me on her blog! Drop by for a chat and the chance to win a copy of DESIRED at http://bit.ly/IR9O6m Whilst you are there, check out the rest of Brnwen’s blog tour and the amazing prizes she has on offer!

Alternative History

Nicola — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:11:48 +0000

Today on the Word Wench blog we are discussing the what ifs of history! What would have happened if Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo? What would have happened if the Spanish Armada had succeeded in invading England? And then there are the unsolved historical mysteries… Who killed the Princes in the Tower? What happened to the Roman 9th Legion? If you like a good historical mystery or if you wish history had turned out differently, come and chat with us!

Drought and Drowned Villages

Nicola — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:15:00 +0000

England has a reputation for being a cold, wet country. There are plenty of references in literature to the prevalence of rain in the English weather. The Canterbury Tales opens with a line referring to April’s sweet showers – but it also refers to the “drought of March.” It is a surprising feature of the UK climate that drought is actually a recurring theme through history and at the moment we are in another drought period. Naturally as I write this, the rain is pelting down outside and has been since the hosepipe ban was introduced but it takes more than a few weeks of persistent rain to restore groundwater levels. Here on the chalk downs the springs have almost run dry and the river, a “winter bourn” has been dry for several years now.

As early as 682 AD there is a record of a terrible drought in Southern England and the crops dying in the fields and the population starving. In the medieval period the lack of rainfall could threaten the livelihood and then the lives of a significant part of the population. If wells and rivers ran dry and harvests failed the people died. Even the richer folk, the clergy and nobility, suffered a loss of income from tithes although that is comparative when you can’t feed your family. 1730 was a drought summer and there have been at least ten major droughts since 1800.

One feature of the 19^th century was that there were several instances of years when the winters were dry in a row leading to a shortage of water and a widespread failure of local water supplies. By this stage the industrialisation of society meant that supplies could be brought in by train but it also meant that there was a greater demand for water for industrial purposes in mills and works, some of which were forced to close as a result. It was not unusual for the use of water to be limited to four hours per day for months on end.

One consequence of drought was the spread of diseases such as typhoid and cholera. The “Great Stink” of London in 1858 was caused in no small part by the hot summer and the lack of rain. The Thames and many of its tributaries were overflowing with sewage and the warm weather encouraged bacteria to thrive causing both illness and terrible smells (smells so bad that there were plans for Parliament to move upriver to Hampton Court and for the law courts to relocate to Oxford.) The situation was eased when the weather broke with heavy rain, as it always seems to do.

One of the rather curious things that occurs when there is a drought is that parch marks in the fields reveal the outlines of ancient building and field systems. Another is that those valleys flooded to make reservoirs such as Mardale in the Lake District and Ladybower in Derbyshire reveal the ruins of the villages lost when the area was “drowned.” Here is one such lost village commemorated in verse:

“King’s tower and Queen’s bower

And weed and reed in the gloom;

And a lost city in Semmerwater

Deep asleep till doom.”

From The Ballad of Semmerwater by Sir William Watson.

The Golden Age of Roman Britain

Nicola — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:43:35 +0000

The Roman period in Britain is an intriguing time and one of my favourite eras to read about. The fact that there are still many Roman sites to visit as well adds depth and colour to research into the period. Last week I visited Chedworth Roman Villa near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, one of the largest Romano-British villas in England.

Chedworth was discovered in 1864 when a gamekeeper found some small tesserae, pieces of buried mosaic. It’s fascinating to me to think of a villa lying buried beneath the accumulated earth of almost two thousand years. When did it fall down, how was it lost, when did it’s presence and those of villas like it fade from awareness? Were bits of it still visible 500 years after the decline of Roman civilisation in the country or had it vanished even then?

The heyday of Chedworth’s villa was in the 4th century AD when it was a large and luxurious country house with underfloor heating and two bath houses. Several of the fine mosaics survive, giving a glimpse of the style and opulence of the villa. The existence of the villa also gives an insight into the peaceful times in which it flourished before the fall of Rome, the withdrawal of troops from Britain and the gradual decline of the Roman way of life. It’s a rich setting for a historical author and one which I hope to explore in my writing one day.

A visit to Downton Abbey!

Nicola — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:35:27 +0000

Over on the Word Wenches blog today I am chatting about the visit I made last week to Highclere Castle, the fabulous Victorian mansion that is used in the filming of Downton Abbey. Please do drop in to the Wenches to read all about our visit and get some of the behind the scenes Downton gossip! The post is here: http://bit.ly/HGrRgx I’m also offering a copy of my Edwardian book Dauntsey Park to one commenter in honour of our visit!

Three Hundred and Fifty Years of Conservation

Nicola — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 08:52:11 +0000

Today at the UK Historical Authors’ Blog I am talking about the conservation work at Ashdown House and the stunning hard hat tours that are available to visitors this season. My fellow guides and I are now fully trained to take people up to the seventh floor of the scaffolding to view the ongoing restoration work on the house. It’s fascinating stuff, from the dates carved into the stone by the original builders to the bright red colour scheme originally inside the house! If you are visiting Oxfordshire do come and visit us and see for yourself the wonderful historical artefacts and hear the story of Ashdown through 350 years of history!

Prizewinners and another contest!

Nicola — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:45:52 +0000

First of all a big thank you to those of you who entered the Notorious contest. The winner is Amy who wins a selection of books and some goodies from Highclere Castle, the home of Downton Abbey. Congratulations, Amy! I’ll be blogging about Highclere/Downton next week. Don’t miss it! Here is Rochester the Guide Dog Puppy with the castle in the background, looking every inch the aristocratic dog!

Congratulations also to Rebecca, who won last month’s website contest and a set of the Brides of Fortune books. There will be a new website contest coming very soon.

And as it’s a holiday weekend and I’m still celebrating the release of Notorious, here is another fun contest. I recently did a quiz to find my “inner animal.” You can take the quiz here. Apparently I am a red squirrel! So I wondered – what do you think your inner animal would be? I’m offering a copy of a backlist book of your choice plus some lovely luxury bath and body gifts as the prize. The draw will be made on Tuesday 10th April. Have a wonderful weekend!

Notorious Contest!

Nicola — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:40:12 +0000

Happy April! As I sit at my desk looking out over the Oxfordshire countryside it’s a beautiful day with the mist starting to vanish in the sun and the hills a patchwork of green and brown against the blue of the sky.

Notorious is published in the UK this month and to celebrate I am holding a little contest here on the blog. To enter, simply tell me what you would like to be notorious – or famous – for! The prize is a selection of books: The Wicked Wyckerly by NYT bestselling author Patricia Rice, To Sin with a Scoundrel by Cara Elliott and my own Dauntsey Park. Plus, I am visiting Highclere Castle, the set of Downton Abbey, this week, so I will be throwing in a few Downton goodies as well! I’ll make the drawing on Thursday and post the result here on the blog. Be sure to check back and to make sure I have your contact details in case you win!

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a very happy week!