The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

You’d think, given all the research I did for Mr. Impossible—not to mention my lifelong fascination with Egyptology—that I would have known all about the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaelogy. But I wrote that book quite a few years ago, when most of my research happened with books, and what was available online, while immensely helpful, wasn’t a fraction of what we find today.

That has to explain why it was such a surprise to discover it—by accident, no less—while looking for another museum around the corner, also part of University College London. The collection includes more than 80,000 objects. We did as much as we could in two phases, before and after lunch, and the boatload of photos below, will, I hope, give you an idea of what’s there.

Amelia Edwards, whose bust and book appear in the photo gallery, was an important source for me. The museum notes, as I realized while writing my book, that her attitude and prejudices reflect her time. This is bound to happen with research. So the trick is to aim for authenticity with hints here and there of the attitudes—because they offer important insights into the times—but to keep the not-so-pleasant stuff subdued. At the same time, I do try not to sound too 21st century, because I don’t want to jar readers out of the world I’ve created. Still, all writers reflect their times. That’s as true of me as it is of Amelia Edwards or any of the numerous other authors whose work I consulted.

As to the artifacts: The museum doesn’t have an elaborate guidebook, so the information is limited to what we (meaning my husband, under my command) could photograph, and I am not an Egyptologist, so I can’t offer further enlightenment. I can tell you one thing: Generally speaking, it’s believed that the shabtis—those little figurines—were meant to serve the deceased in the afterlife.

Again, you will find very brief videos on my Facebook and Instagram Author pages.

Asgill House and royal properties

I know I’m breaking my promise of only a dozen or so blogs a year, but a monthlong visit in London demands exceptions, so I hope you’ll enjoy traveling with me. And another note: If I were home I would be able to post to the blog the short videos we’ve made during the visits. I hope to do that when I return. In the meantime, you can access them on my Facebook and Instagram pages by clicking the links here on my Home page. However, if you prefer to avoid social media, I get it, believe me.

When I wrote Dukes Prefer Blondes, it was a bit harder to get the information I needed about Asgill House (Ithaca House in the story) than it is today. But of course I persevered. I found old photos of the interior and the architect’s explanation of the restoration. However, I had no idea how beautifully the house had been restored until I saw it in person. The gardens—what one can see of them behind the wall and through the gates—are lovely. The house looks pristine. While the garden layout was likely different at the time of my story, there’s no question that the place would have provided the beauty and tranquility Raven Radford’s parents sought.

What I failed to take in, even after a reader alerted me via email, was the significance of the location. Because so little of Richmond Palace remains, I hadn’t realized that the house was on royal property. I feel rather stupid about that. It would have been nice to make a little note about, say, the fact that Queen Elizabeth I had died at Richmond Palace, and such and such a character might unknowingly be standing on the very spot where she breathed her last!

Not the first time I’ve learned something after the fact…

Meanwhile, here are a few photos of the place. The last photo is of Marble Hill House, Twickenham (across the river). It was built originally by a mistress of King George II. A few generations later, the Prince Regent (who later became King George IV) rented the place for one of his mistresses, Maria Fitzherbert.

Below is a transcription of the plaque.

On this site, extending eastward to cloisters of the ancient friary of Shene formerly stood the river frontage of the Royal Palace. First occupied by Henry I in 1125. Edward III died here June 21, 1377. The palace was rebuilt by Henry VII who died here April 21 1509. Queen Elizabeth also died here March 24, 1603.

The London Transport Museum

Characters have to get from one place to another. In the time of my stories, they could travel on horseback, in a private carriage (or lesser vehicle, like a farm cart), or via public transport. Though I’ve spent time before at the London Transport Museum, I always discover something I’ve missed or forgotten. And this visit offered a fresh opportunity to share a bit of this wonderful museum, and perhaps help readers visualize the world of my stories.

London was a vastly different, and definitely smaller, place then. Kensington was “the Old Court Suburb,” and the Notting Hill of My Inconvenient Duke was rural, with gravel pits and piggeries and brick making. I’m currently staying in Notting Hill, among antique shops and not-inexpensive clothing stores and fine restaurants. The “Porto Bello Lane” of my story is Portobello Road, crowded on market days with dealers and tourists. Shops and housing line the streets.

I can hop on a bus a short walk from my place, while an almost-as-short walk takes me to a Tube Station.

My characters had to travel via other means, but, given the traffic, not necessarily more speedily. Depending on the time of day, I suspect the bus would move only a little more quickly than Blackwood and Alice did.

Some notes about the images:

The museum includes not only prints of construction under way in London, but also scale models. And let us bear in mind that virtually all of this work was done by hand, with a few mechanical devices to help. Artist George Scharf made many drawings of numerous demolition and construction projects in London. It’s the closest we can come to photographs, before photography happened. You can find many of his works in the British Museum’s online collection.

The horse is all-important throughout the Regency and Victorian eras. Although the photograph of the stables is much later than the time of my stories, it gives a sense of the great number of horses needed for the various kinds of transport. Huge stables like these filled vast blocks in and about the coaching inns. At a future date, I hope to show a map of the George Inn, which Alice and Blackwood visit in search of Jonesy . Today, one may see a remnant—a rare example of the galleried coaching inns—and a fraction of what one would have encountered in its heyday.

If you’ve been subscribing to this blog for a while, you’ve probably seen the image of a hackney cabriolet before. When I mention vehicles speeding along the London streets or “occasionally throwing out passengers,” this is the vehicle. It’s a nice model of a single-passenger vehicle, but there were cabs that could hold two people, not very comfortably.

Once again, I have to apologize for the randomness of some of the images. My available technology while traveling is limited, and procedures possible on my laptop are not possible on my tablet. This is why—among other things—the omnibus information and images are not in proper sequence.