I’ve been revising Fragrance of Violets for re-publication (and eventually forced myself to stop tweaking and to submit it last Sunday!). The story is set mainly in the Lake District, an area in North West England, which is one of our national parks. Known sometimes as Lakeland, or simply ‘The Lakes’, it’s not a large area – about 32 miles from east to west, and 40 from north to south – but it contains some of the most beautiful scenery in England. There are dozens of lakes, of course, although only one of them has the word ‘lake’ in its name. Others are called ‘water’ or ‘mere’ and the smaller ones are called ‘tarns’.
Windermere - the largest lake |
Langdale Pikes from Tarn Hows |
Or from the tops
It’s now over 55 years since I first visited the Lake District with my parents, who bought a small caravan just outside one of the villages in the southern part of this area. We used to go there frequently, and I eventually took over the caravan from them. As a result, I got to know the village very well, and it became the village in my novel. Although I gave it a different name (which allowed me to ‘move’ some of the buildings around), anyone familiar with the Lake District would recognise it!
Here, for example, is the twelfth century church on a small hill above the village, and the grey stone building is the ‘Old School’ which caused some controversy in my story when the roof was damaged by heavy rain.
This is the pub where, during the 80s, I got to know a lot of the locals – and played dominoes with them, so of course I had to use it in the story!
Here’s one of the small squares in the village
And here is one of the quaint, narrow lanes.
As well as giving the village a different name, I even ‘moved’
it into a different valley, because, ever since I was in my teens, this
particular valley, dominated by its twin peaks (known as ‘pikes’ in Lakeland)
has been my favourite place in the whole world. I may have fallen in love with
Connemara in the last 10 years, but revising Fragrance of Violets has reminded
me that I have had a much longer love affair with the Lake District, and especially with this valley!
Stop Press Info!
I'm happy to say that the new cover for Fragrance of Violets (finalised copy received today, just three days after submission of the ms.!) has a genuine Lakeland scene as its background and I am thrilled to bits with it!
Such beautiful pictures, Paula! I love that you 'moved' your town to a location you preferred. I just it when a writer can take such liberties in framing our settings.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the cover. It's beautiful. The scene in the back is perfect! :)
Thanks, Debra! Maybe I have confused people who know the Lake District by moving the village to a different location! And by the way, 'village' here means something very different from a 'town' but it's difficult to explain the difference to many Americans who have never visited our quintessential old English villages! They're very different from even the small 'towns' or townships you have in America., Mainly because may of them originated back in medieval times!
DeleteHi Paula, Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures of the Lake District. And best of luck with Fragrance of Violets. Love the cover! Joanne :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanne. No photo ever really does the Lake District scenery justice! It really is a beautiful area.
DeleteHaving just come back from the Lake District I can appreciate your love for this part of the country. And I absolutely love the cover for Fragrance of Violets.
ReplyDeleteI envy you your holiday in the Lake District, Margaret! I think it's time I went up there again!
DeleteI have traveled through European villages as a child. I loved them so much, I didn't want to move back to America. But I had to.
ReplyDeleteVillages here do tend to have their own individual 'personalities' somehow.
DeleteSorry for the delay (Jewish holiday)--LOVE the new cover!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jen. I love it too!
ReplyDelete