The Basingstoke Canal

The Eighteenth Century was a time of 'canal mania'. As the industrial and agricultural revolution developed rapidly, canals were considered to be a cheaper and more efficient means of transporting goods in bulk than by using wagons on the poor roads of that era.

Hampshire had a thriving agicultural trade and Basingstoke was a well established market town. It was decided to build a canal from Basingstoke to transport the agricultural produce of North East Hampshire to the markets of London. The canal would link with the Thames via Byfleet and so create a 70-mile waterway to the Pool of London. Construction began in 1778 and took six years.

The Canal was moderately successful in its early years, due to the Napoleonic Wars. Because of French naval action in the Channel, coastal traffic was disrupted and it was safer to send those goods that used to go by sailing ship, along the canal.

In In All Honour, however, the road network has been improved and the canal, always over budget and needing a lot of maintenance, is not profitable. Sir Thomas Thatcham has decided to sell his share in the Canal but is waiting for the market to improve before he can make a decent return on his investment.

           

The Lines of Torres Vedras

The Lines of Torres Vedras were a series of defensive walls and forts constructed to defend Lisbon against the French during the Peninsular War. They were ordered by Lord Wellington - and built in secrecy by Portuguese workers between September 1809 and November 1810.

It was the only way to prevent the larger French army from reaching Lisbon. The rapid construction of these three defensive walls was a complete success. When Masséna brought the French army up to the lines, he knew at once that he could not win a battle here. He asked his Staff why they had not known about them in advance.

'Wellington made them,' was the reply.

It was to get more funds for this building work that Greg Thatcham was sent to London in The Wild Card. Wellington had entrusted him with letters for several ministers as well as the Prince Regent.

                                                          

The Wild Card

Take a young man seeking adventure and action. He fights in Wellington's Peninsular Army against the French forces of Napoleon. But then he is badly wounded at the battle of Talavera and has to give up the military career he loves so much. He becomes moody and difficult.

Another young man lives the life of a society darling but he has no money. He must live by his wits. Into their lives comes a lively young lady, determined that she will not be married off to anyone, even though her mother has ordered her to make a good match. She longs to go back home and carry on helping her father the vicar with his good works.

B -u -t the two gentlemen are so very handsome and so admiring, she is tempted.... just a little....and at the same time she becomes aware of sinister undercurrents in society life. She has to prevent a spy from damaging her country, but at  a possibly fatal cost to herself.

 The Wild Card was one of the winners in the RNA Joan Hessayon Awards for a first novel.  
The Judge’s summary:

The Wild Card (Hale) by Beth Elliot  - "The background is terrific, the story lively and the pace relentless as the story builds to a fantastic climax. A wonderful charming and well-written Regency with its essential lightness spiced with intrigue."

I couldn't resist

I took my Turkish cousin to Bath for the day. She loved everything, starting with the Abbey and the Pump Room. And when she suggested snapping me in the same place as shown on the cover of In All Honour, how could I resist?

The city of Bath

'Mr Allen...was ordered to Bath for the benefit of a gouty constitution.' Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. And so begin the adventures of Catherine Morland in the delightful, smart and lively city of Bath

Bath is a beautiful city, thanks to the harmony of the architecture and the honey coloured local stone. It was always an important place, due to the healing powers of its hot springs, first developed by the Romans. In the Georgian period there was a massive development programme to provide elegant and comfortable public and private buildings.

For Georgian society Bath was THE place to spend several weeks or months in the winter.They came to take the waters for their health but also to enjoy showing off their fine clothes as they walked along the wide pavements or in the Parade Gardens below the Abbey. There were coffee houses, circulating libraries, pleasure gardens and of course the Assembly Rooms, where they could dance, gamble and drink tea.

The truly sick were taken from their beds straight into a sedan chair [the staircases and doorways in Bath are all made wide enough for this service] and taken to the hot bath, which gave relief from rheumatic pain.




Other complaints were treated by drinking a pint of the warm spring water three times a day. No wonder they sought out the amusements and entertainments to have something they could enjoy!

 Several of the characters of In All Honour are in Bath for their health. Another family is there because it was a useful way to prepare the young daughter, Lavinia, for her come-out in London. In Bath she can learn to dance without being too shy, she can join in the morning promenades, the tea parties, the concerts and gain poise and the necessary social skills of polite conversation and exquisite manners so that she will not be mauled in the tougher world of London society.

In addition, there were a number of schools or seminaries in Bath, for the education of young ladies. Sarah and her friend Lizzie spent several years in Miss Howard's Academy in Queen Square. Then as now, the shops were full of smart and enticing goods and the girls enjoyed their Sunday afternoon walk around the town, when they could get a glimpse of these tempting things.

The Gravel Walk, Bath

When Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth at last reach that happy moment when they understand each other and agree to marry, they need somewhere private to walk and talk and pour out their feelings. They set off through the streets of Bath to the Gravel Walk and take their time to go along this quiet way.

Each time I read 'Persuasion' I always imagine their blissful state, strolling slowly arm in arm as they go over the events that have brought them together and then savour the happiness of a shared future. The physical contact is also a thrill, after eight years apart. How I wish I could see them as they walk and stop, chat, move on a little, he catching her arm and pulling her close. Surely, however well bred she is, she is more than ready to snuggle up to him and maybe even exchange a few kisses.

This scene has fascinated me so much that in In All Honour I send my hero and heroine to walk along the same path. Of course, during that walk Greg is overcome by his feelings and by Sarah's beauty, so he cannot help kissing her. At this point Sarah thinks Greg has an understanding with her best friend, Lizzie, so she is upset by the kiss, even though she enjoys it. What a tangle life is!

She leaned closer, closer… Suddenly, both of them recollected where they were and jerked back at the same instant.
Sarah’s cheeks became very red but she kept her eyes on him steadily. She raised a trembling hand to touch her lips. Her breath was coming in little gasps. Greg’s eyes glowed as he watched her and his mouth curved into a breath-taking smile. They stood there, staring at each other, unaware of the wind, the cold and of various nursemaids and servants passing them in both directions.
It seemed a very long time before Sarah said: ‘We should not have done that. It was very wrong of us.’
‘I cannot believe that something so pleasant can be entirely wrong,’ protested Greg. He raised an eyebrow and grinned at her. After a moment in which she continued to stare at him, he added: ‘but if I have distressed you, I apologise.’
She looked down, veiling her eyes with long dark lashes. Her head was whirling. Why had he done it, when he was as good as engaged to her best friend? Why had she responded? And yet, somewhere in her mind, she rejoiced at that sweet contact, oh yes, and she wanted more of it. Which meant she must put herself out of danger, not just from the man she loathed but from the man she loved.

In All Honour,  pub: Robert Hale, March 2009

Kindle edition:   Sept 2011

IN ALL HONOUR

In All Honour will be published by Robert Hale in March.

In 1810 at the end of The Wild Card, Theo's friend, Greg, has fallen in love with Amelia but she turns him down. Broken-hearted, he goes back to his military duties in Spain.

Two years later, he is cynical about women. Wounded at the battle of Salamanca, he returns to England to face a series of problems involving his family. As he tries to unravel the mystery, developments became more and more sinister.

Sarah Davenport is one person who could help him but she constantly avoids his company. Greg cannot deny she has links to the villains even if she seems to be an honourable young lady.

Sarah has her own reasons for trying to keep away from Greg. She accepts an invitation to stay with a friend in Bath where they plan to enjoy the social life, with visits to the Pump Room, the circulating library and Assembly Rooms. Sarah thinks she has escaped but then Greg also appears in Bath - and, horror of horrors, so does the unpleasant Lord Percival, who is hunting Sarah relentlessly.

Can Greg resolve the impossible tangle?