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Lillian Marek | The Inspiration for the Victorian Adventures
August 19, 2015
What was the inspiration for my Victorian Adventures series? Well, it all
started years ago.
The school where I was teaching was clearing out the library and throwing away
books that no one had looked at in years. Among the discards were some old
Baedeker guides from the 1880s. I thought they were fascinating, and promptly
rescued them.
I dipped into them from time to time, imagining what it would be like to be
traveling to Rome in those days, taking a steamer from Marseilles to Civita
Vecchia and then hiring a coach for the ride to Rome. I actually took the
Baedeker with me when I did get to go to Rome and discovered that it was an
excellent guide to the Forum, which hadn’t changed a bit in the intervening
hundred or so years.
Then when I started writing historical romances, I remembered those guide books
and thought it would be fun to send my characters off on their travels.
The Victorians tended to be pretty serious travelers, and when I was looking
through the guide book I saw quite a bit about the Etruscans. Now as soon as you
start doing any research about the Etruscans, you run into George Dennis.
He left school at the age of fifteen, but was interested in languages and taught
himself half a dozen modern ones in addition to classical Greek and Latin. He
decided to be an explorer, and wrote a book about his travels in Spain. Then he
got interested in Etruria—this was in the 1840s when the territory of the
ancient Etrurian cities in Italy was pretty much wilderness and malarial plains.
He wrote a thousand-page book, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, which is
still an important book on the subject. So I gave it to my characters to read,
and the result was LADY ELINOR'S WICKED ADVENTURES.
While I was learning about Dennis, I came across a friend of his, Austen Henry
Layard, another adventurous young Englishman. Layard had been working in his
uncle’s law office, being bored, and got a chance to take a job in Ceylon. That
struck him as an improvement, but instead of going by ship, he decided to go
overland.
On his way, he encountered Emile Botta, a Frenchman who was excavating what he
thought would be the remains of the ancient Assyrian cities. Layard decided this
sounded even more interesting than a job in Ceylon, so he started digging too.
He found Nimrud and Nineveh, uncovering the library of Ashurbanipal and the huge
statues that guarded the gates of the ancient city.
Layard, of course, wrote a book about all this, one of the best travel books
you’ll ever read. And that was the start of LADY EMILY'S
EXOTIC JOURNEY.
I needed good bit of additional information for the book. Aside from details
about food, clothing, and scenery, I needed to know things like how to get from
one place to another, and I was having trouble finding out about the trip from
Diyarbakir to Mosul. People traveled down the Tigris River, but on what? A
steamboat? A sailboat? That’s when I met Ely Banister Soane. He was born in
Kensington, worked as a banker in Persia, and at the age of 26 decided it would
be more fun to travel. So he did. He went To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in
Disguise, and wrote about it, including a long chapter about traveling down the
Tigris to Mosul on a kalak (or kelek)—a raft buoyed up on inflated goatskins.
I don’t know why people think of the Victorians as stuffy and boring. Do you
suppose it’s the whiskers? There were plenty of Victorians—men and women—out
there exploring the globe and having adventures. And when those adventurers
wrote books about their travels, the people back home loved to read them.
So do I.
GIVEAWAY
What's your favorite Victorian adventure? Leave a comment below and be entered
for a chance to win a copy of LADY EMILY'S EXOTIC JOURNEY.
Lillian Marek was born and raised in New York City (the center of the
universe). At one time or another she has had most of the interesting but
underpaid jobs available to English majors. After a few too many years in
journalism, she decided she prefers fiction, where the good guys win and the bad
guys get what they deserve.
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From sensible, sheltered girl
Safe in the embrace of her loving family, Lady Emily Tremaine longs to feel more
intensely alive. Surely the magic and mystery of Assyria and the fabled ruins of
Nineveh will bring about the transformation she seeks.
To the woman his heart desires
Scarred by his past and estranged from his noble grandfather, French adventurer
Lucien Chambertin desires neither a home nor the chains of emotional attachment.
He seeks only to explore the far reaches of the world. But he did not know the
world contained the likes of Lady Emily—whose curiosity and sense of wonder
match his own.
Comments
24 comments posted.
Re: Lillian Marek | The Inspiration for the Victorian Adventures
Journeys to foreign lands
(Marissa Yip-Young 6:16am August 19, 2015)
I believe that when I read your book, that's going to be the first adventure of the Victorian genre that I've read, now that I've had a chance to think about your question!! I've read some Victorian Romances, but they're all pretty tame next to the book that you've written, and the extent that you've gone through with your research!! It sounds like quite the adventure, and one that I won't want to end, once I start reading it. Congratulations on your latest conquest!!
(Peggy Roberson 6:32am August 19, 2015)
I'm newly returning to Victorian romances after a 20-year absence. In my
earlier days it was always the highwayman who captured my fancy. I've a
tast for something different now in my more mature years!
(K'tee Bee 7:08am August 19, 2015)
I guess I just like to read that time era. History is a
subject I really like. Your rescues remind me of the book I
checked-out from the library. Our library system lets us
check-out books from any Minnesota library and this one came
from the University of Minnesota. It was a guide book of
Egypt and written in the 1880s (I forget the date). The pages
were falling out so I did not finish the book but put it into
a zip top bag and offered to buy it. I never heard from them,
The book should have not been on the shelf. Your books sound
like historical journeys.
(Leona Olson 10:45am August 19, 2015)
A Victorian Adventure for me is The Secret garden. An escape,
beautiful surroundings and another locale and era which is
fascinating.
(Sharon Berger 11:05am August 19, 2015)
I love books set in the "Victorian" era, but I can't pick just one to be my favorite. I LOVED your blog today - I learned so much just from reading it. Thank you - and thank you for the chance to win. But, win or lose, I'll be getting your books to read. I am totally intrigued now.
(Nancy Reynolds 12:06pm August 19, 2015)
Oh boy... a fav is not coming to mind, but I love love love Historicals... they are what hooked me on reading!
(Colleen Conklin 12:55pm August 19, 2015)
I can't remember the name but it was the mystery of the 3
japaneese puzzle boxes that shared clues to the mystery. Very
intertaining since I had within the past 3 weeks received a puzzle
box from our oldest son who had made a trip to Japan.
(Nancy Luebke 4:38pm August 19, 2015)
Would love to win and read.
(Kathy Church 6:11pm August 19, 2015)
I've read quite a few great Victoria adventures and I really enjoyed LADY
ELINOR'S WICKED ADVENTURES. It's too hard to choose just one, I love
them all. I'm looking forward to reading Lady Emily's Exotic Journey.
(Barbara Elness 6:52pm August 19, 2015)
I read every Victorian adventure the library had---25 years ago! BC-Before Children! Now, they are grown and reading their own books and I have time to read again! The main author I remember for Victorian romance was Jude Devereaux! (spelling!)
(Amy Morgan 9:48am August 20, 2015)
I love reading the Victoria era books ,the way they dressed , traveled and lived . I always put myself into the book I'm reading , so therefore I have an exciting life as well. YEAH I don't have a favorite , I love them all . Thanks for this wonderful giveaway .
(Joan Thrasher 10:37am August 20, 2015)
This sounds like a wonderful book!! I would love to
have a copy
(Beverly Ross 3:29pm August 20, 2015)
I love reading about how smart women achieve their goals.
(Charlene Fraley 10:07pm August 20, 2015)
I love the Victorian era and everything about it. I think it's so romantic. Thanks so much for a chance to win your book...it sounds like one I'd love to read!!!
(Bonnie Capuano 10:54pm August 20, 2015)
I don't know that I have a favorite Victorian adventure, but I would probably choose Egypt as the locale of where the adventure takes place. I know many Victorian era individuals explored parts of the Middle East and were fascinated by the pyramids (like we still are today).
(Flora Presley 7:43am August 21, 2015)
I love all Victorian adventures.Thanks for the chance to win your book.
(Jean Benedict 2:53pm August 21, 2015)
I am always looking for new authors to read...I just found one.
(Jackie Wisherd 11:36pm August 21, 2015)
I am a student of ancient history, so the exploits of
Victorians like Austen Henry Layerd have always fueled
my dreams. However, we forget that quite few British
noblemen were involved with our westward expansion
establishing enormous ranches, participating in
businesses that funded railways, cataloging native
fauna and their habitat and many other pursuits.
(Irene Menge 5:31am August 22, 2015)
Scotland!
(Denise Austin 12:36pm August 22, 2015)
I love all the adventures I go thru your books, The Victorian
era is my favorite books to read. Takes me away from today's
stress.
(Sharon Sommer 1:02pm August 22, 2015)
I like the small adventures going somewhere you've never been. They can keep life interesting.
(Beth Elder 3:19pm August 22, 2015)
I don't think I've read a Victorian era novel since I read the children's novel A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett but I do remember enjoying it immensely.
(Lesley Walsh 5:27pm August 22, 2015)
I love reading books from the Victorian Era. I love the way
they dress, talk, live! I don't have a fav, I love them all.
Your book sounds very intriguing, it's been added to my TBR
list. Thanks for the opportunity!
(Jennifer Lessard 1:05am August 26, 2015)
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