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Stephen Fry’s Edwardian Secrets

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If you follow me on social media, you might have spotted something exciting I shared back in August. Earlier this year I was one of the guests on Stephen Fry’s brand new podcast for Audible, Edwardian Secrets!

Here’s a bit more about the series:

Powered flight. Votes for women. Human sexuality. Mass migration. The psychology of dreams. The magic of the movies. Spies and detectives. Welcome to Stephen Fry’s Edwardian Secrets.

Perhaps thanks to TV period dramas, the popular imagination may picture the Edwardian era as an idyllic window between the wars, a time of manners and tea on the lawn. But below the surface lies a frenetic and often bizarre age where scientific leaps forward went hand in hand with belief in fairies, and secrets of sex, lies and murder simmered.

Across 12 episodes, in this sequel to his Victorian Secrets, Stephen Fry uncovers some of the startling and unexpected hidden histories of the Edwardians.

It was so much fun to be involved, and to put some of the endless research I did for the Sinclair’s Mysteries and Taylor & Rose Secret Agents to good use, talking about everything from the fascinating world of 1900s children’s literature to (of course) Edwardian lady detectives.

If  you’d like to have a listen, check it out on Audible here.

Staying at Home: Resources and Things to Do

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UPDATED 11/7/20 with some new resources!

I wanted to quickly share a few resources and activities related to my books that might be useful for families and/or schools at the present time. Here’s a list:

The Clockwork Sparrow lesson plans– 3 weeks of activities relating to the first book in the Sinclair’s Mysteries series, ideal for Key Stage 2 (age 8-11)

 The Clockwork Sparrow on BBC Bitesize – Tune in to see Scarlett Moffatt reading extracts from The Clockwork Sparrow, as part of lessons aimed at 12-13 year olds.

 Mystery & History masterclass – on the Authorfy website you’ll find a masterclass for Peril in Paris, ideal for Key Stage 2 (age 7-11) and a masterclass for Rose’s Dress of Dreams for Key Stage 1 (age 5-7). Each masterclass includes videos, extracts and a detailed scheme of work.

Watch a video – settle down for storytime and watch me read from Peril in Paris or Spies in St Petersburg or check out this live-streamed video interview I did for the Lockdown Children’s Litfest.

Colouring sheets – colour in a Clockwork Sparrow,  a Jewelled Moth or a cut-out mask perfect for wearing to a high society fancy-dress ball!

Activities – inspired by Rose’s Dress of Dreams, create your own fabulous fashion design or design a hot air-balloon inspired by Sophie Takes to the Sky. Make your own Peril in Paris luggage tag for going on intrepid adventures.

Puzzles – download and print a Peril in Paris activity sheet with lots of puzzles to solve. Or put your detective skills to the test with this Sinclair’s Mysteries secret code puzzle

Explore Edwardian London – check out an interactive map of the real London locations that inspired the Sinclair’s Mysteries series

Get stuck into some historyRead about the real-life history behind the Sinclair’s Mysteries and Taylor & Rose Secret Agents series

Listen to a podcast about children’s books – listen to my podcast Down the Rabbit Hole which is all about children’s books. There are 70 episodes in our archive featuring authors, illustrators and children’s experts, with new episodes each month – you can also find us on Apple Podcasts.

… And don’t forget – if you fancy something cheerful to read, you can download my new Taylor & Rose mini adventure Secrets on the Shore as an e-book. It’s only £1.99 – links to buy here.

You can also of course download the wonderful Book of Hopes for free which includes stories, poems and illustrations by a whole host of children’s authors and illustrators – including me!

I’ll keep this page updated with any new resources: you can also check out the page on my website here.

Do be sure to check out all your favourite authors and illustrators for lots more book related content – there’s so much fantastic stuff out there at the moment. Look for the hashtag #BooksUnited on Twitter as a starting point.

Behind the Scenes: The Edwardian Lady Detective

ladydetective1When I first started writing the Sinclair’s Mysteries, while I loved the idea of Edwardian girl detectives, I had a feeling that it was unlikely that my heroines Sophie and Lil had many real-life counterparts. Although I’d come across works of fiction like Revelations of a Lady Detective, and The Female Detective published in the mid-19th century I suspected that real lady detectives at this time had in fact been few and far between. And although many new opportunities were opening up for women in the early 20th century, I couldn’t somehow imagine that there were really many young women who had the opportunity to work as professional detectives as Sophie and Lil do in my stories – never mind setting up their own detective agency. However…

Reader, I was entirely wrong.

In my research for the Sinclair’s Mysteries and Taylor & Rose Secret Agents series, I’ve discovered that there were many women engaged in detective work both in London and further afield in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries. In fact, one of the first lady detectives Kate Warne got a job at the famous Chicago agency Pinkerton’s as early as 1856. By 1894, Henry Slater (head of one of London’s largest detective agencies) was advertising Slater’s Women Detectives and at around the same time, Moser’s Ladies Detective Agency was set up by his rival, the ex-Scotland Yard inspector Maurice Moser. Meanwhile, Kate Easton was one of the first lady detectives to set up her own agency in London, which she established in 1905, declaring: ‘Blackmail, divorce, evidence, robbery, I undertake it all; I have touched everything except murder.’

Meanwhile, although women could not officially work for the police in the UK, Scotland Yard had been quietly hiring lady detectives to help with their cases as early as 1899. And across the pond in the USA, Isabella Goodwin was hired as New York’s first woman police detective in the 1900s, investigating burglars and swindlers; whilst Frances Benzecry worked as a detective for the medical societies of Brooklyn and Manhattan to expose fake medical pracitioners.

Anyone who has read the Sinclair’s Mysteries and Taylor & Rose Secret Agents will be interested to hear that another place women detectives could often be found in the 1900s was in London’s department stores! Stores like my own (fictional) Sinclair’s would frequently hire women to help prevent shoplifting, as women detectives were better able to blend in with the customers. When it opened in 1909, Selfridges hired a detective named Matilda Mitchell as the head up its very own ‘secret service’. She and her staff helped to catch thieves and frustrate the efforts of gangs like the ‘Forty Elephants’ who would sweep into the shop and cause a rumpus, while others quickly stuffed furs and expensive trinkets into outfits fitted with pockets especially for the purpose.

maudwestI recently read a fascinating new book The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective by Susannah Stapleton which explores the intriguing story of one of these early lady detectives, Maud West, in more detail. I was especially interested to discover that Maud had a surprising number of things in common with Sophie and Lil!

Maud reportedly set up her own detective agency in 1905: she had a number of both male and female detectives working for her, and an office in Bloomsbury. She had a particular eye for publicity, placing advertisements in the press (‘Maud West, Lady Detective. Are you worried? If so, consult me! Private enquiries and delicate matters undertaken anywhere with secrecy and ability’) but also writing colourful newspaper stories about her cases, seeking out publicity stunts, and circulating pictures of herself in various disguises.

According to her own accounts, her detective work involved everything from unmasking blackmailers to foiling jewel thieves to infiltrating dangerous gangs. She frequently used disguises, changing her appearance with wigs and make-up, and often dressed as a man, occupying rooms in a hotel as a ‘titled Englishman’ and following her suspects ‘into their clubs, playing baccarat beside them at the Monte Carlo Casino. She would reportedly disguise herself as ‘a shabby old scrubwoman’ at 5pm before being at the Ritz elegantly dressed for dinner by 7pm. She even claimed to have been involved in catching foreign spies, and just like Sophie and Lil, apparently worked for the British intelligence services during the First World War.

Something else that I was particularly intrigued to discover about Maud is that just like Sophie she appears to have started her career as a shop assistant – possibly even working in millinery – and that just like Lil she may have spent some time on the stage.

Later, her two daughters also came to work for her as detectives. One newspaper reported that her daughter Vera (described as ‘a pretty fair-haired girl of 17’ when she first started working for Maud) was such a clever young detective that she was dubbed ‘Miss Sherlock Holmes’.

It seems that my idea of Edwardian girl detectives was not so very far-fetched after all!

Check out my other ‘Behind the Scenes’ posts exploring the historical background of the Sinclair’s Mysteries and Taylor & Rose Secret Agents

Ten Edwardian Children’s Books

My new series, Taylor & Rose Secret Agents, is set in 1911-1912 and as such, takes us out of the Edwardian era proper and into the pre-First World War period. But before saying farewell to all things Edwardian, I realised I’d never written anything here about one of the most important influences on the Sinclair’s Mysteries – some of my favourite Edwardian era-set children’s books.

Here are ten of my favourites. Some of these were actually written in the Edwardian era itself – which although a relatively short time period was a golden age for children’s literature, in which the likes of Peter Pan, The Wind in the Willows and The Tale of Peter Rabbit all first appeared. Others were written more recently but are set in the 1900s and speak to that tradition. There are lots more I could mention but these ten are the books that had the biggest influence on the Sinclair’s Mysteries and that sum up the Edwardian ‘feel’ I wanted to evoke.

One thing I should say about all of these books is that almost without exception they focus on the experience of white middle class (or upper class) characters. It’s also worth bearing in mind that those written in the 1900s often demonstrate attitudes to gender, class, disability and especially race that will not sit well with contemporary readers. Without wanting to suggest there’s any sort of ‘easy fix’, it’s for this reason that I wanted to depict a wider range of characters in the Sinclair’s Mysteries – from the working class half-Chinese Lim family to mixed race housemaid Tilly and disabled aristocrat Leo – and in doing so represent a broader spectrum of Edwardian society than we might typically encounter in these books. How successfully I’ve done this I’m not sure (perhaps unsurprisingly there are fewer accounts of mixed race Edwardian children in the East End to draw on than there are of those living in comfortable middle-class suburbs!) but I hope the Sinclair’s Mysteries therefore reflects some of the diversity of 1900s London.

railwaychildrenThe Railway Children by E Nesbit

Edith Nesbit always seems to me to be the ultimate Edwardian children’s author. From her unconventional family life to her hand-rolled cigarettes and Fabian politics she was very much a radical – and yet her books have a particularly cosy quality. The Railway Children is probably the most famous (perhaps in part because of the classic film version) and follows Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis as they are forced to leave behind their comfortable middle-class home in the London suburbs for a new life with their mother in a country cottage after their father suddenly disappears one night. In their new home they soon become involved in all the doings of the nearby railway station – but meanwhile, what has happened to father? It’s peak Edwardiana, from the iconic red flannel petticoats to the toes of Phyllis’s (usually untied) boots. There are so many delightful scenes – the moving house picnic with marmalade and sardines! Bobbie’s birthday tea! All the handkerchiefs waving from the train! – but it’s the final chapter of the book and especially the last lines that bring me to tears every time.

treasureseekersThe Story of the Treasure Seekers by E Nesbit

It may not be as well known as some of her other books, but to my mind this is one of Nesbit’s most brilliant. This is the story of the Bastable children who set out with the ambition of ‘restoring the fallen fortunes of the house of Bastable’. From their home on the Lewisham Road, and with a bit of help/hindrance from Albert Next Door (and occasionally Albert Next Door’s Uncle) they try various inventive schemes for making money – from publishing their own newspaper to digging for treasure to becoming highwaymen. Needless to say most of them go disastrously wrong. It’s funnier than The Railway Children but there is plenty of pathos here too. The first few pages are a masterclass in narrative voice and perfectly demonstrate the qualities that make Nesbit such an exceptional children’s writer.

littleprincessA Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

There are plenty of downtrodden yet plucky orphans in Edwardian children’s fiction, but Sara Crewe is one of the stand-outs. At the start of this story she leads a life of luxury as the heiress to diamond mines and the star pupil at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies. She has a fabulous wardrobe of rose-pink dancing frocks, gorgeous and glamorous dolls, and all the sponge cakes she can eat. But when her beloved father dies and her fortune vanishes overnight, she soon finds herself having to work as a maid for the deeply unpleasant Miss Minchin. Sara will need all her strength and powers of imagination if she is to continue to behave like ‘a little princess’. Although it may be highly sentimental, this is a truly delightful read and contains one of the most magical scenes in children’s literature (if you’ve read it, you know).

secretgardenThe Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

My other Frances Hodgson Burnett pick is one of my all-time favourite children’s books. Interestingly at the time it was Little Lord Fauntleroy which was Hodgson Burnett‘s most popular book (of which more later) whereas today it’s probably The Secret Garden which is the most beloved – by me at any rate. Here, another orphan, the sulky and sour Mary Lennox, is sent from India to live with her unknown uncle at his Yorkshire home, Misselthwaite Manor. There she discovers long-buried secrets, including a forgotten garden that she sets about bringing back to life. A tribute to the transformative power and magic of nature, it’s a glorious book – and again the final pages are guaranteed to move me to tears, no matter how many times I have read them.

sherlockThe Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

This one is a bit of a cheat as it’s strictly speaking not a children’s book at all, though read by many children both in the 1900s and today. But I couldn’t write about the Edwardian books that influenced the Sinclair’s Mysteries without giving a nod to the quintessential Edwardian detective story: Holmes and Watson might not have a great deal in common with Sophie and Lil, but there’s certainly an important connection. I always enjoy the smoggy, murky atmosphere of Sherlock Holmes’s London and as with Conan Doyle’s stories, I was keen for the Sinclair’s Mysteries to show the reader some of the different faces of the city – from the grimy East End to the ritzy and glitzy world of the Edwardian upper classes.

vicaragefamilyA Vicarage Family by Noel Streatfeild

Noel Streatfeild is well-known for Ballet Shoes and her other (wonderful) books set in the world of theatre and dance, but this story is a little different, being closely based on her own childhood in the 1900s. Growing up in a vicarage, Vicky is the ‘difficult’ middle child sandwiched in between her pretty and talented older sister Isobel and spoilt younger sister Louise. Out of place and often in trouble both at school and at home, only her cousin John seems to really understand her. Full of intriguing period detail, this is a moving and compelling story which paints a vivid picture of Edwardian girlhood – it’s an absolute must for Streatfeild fans but fascinating for anyone interested in ‘ordinary’ life in the 1900s.

thursdayschildThursday’s Child by Noel Streatfeild

When she is sent to live at a miserable orphanage, spirited Margaret Thursday soon befriends the shabby but genteel Beresford family – Lavinia, Peter and Horatio, who have lost their mother and fallen on hard times. Lavinia is sent to become a scullery maid at a local Manor house, while Peter and Horatio join Margaret at the orphanage – but soon, the three of them decide to run away. There is unexpected help from a canal bargeman and his family and before long they’ve found employment as ‘leggers’ on a barge – before taking to the stage in a travelling production of Little Lord Fauntleroy where Margaret quickly becomes a star turn. But can Lavinia track them down and let them know about the unexpected and dramatic change in their fortunes? A clear tribute to Frances Hodgson Burnett, this is one of Streatfeild’s less well-known books (and looks to be currently out of print) but is thoroughly enjoyable, with all the elements of a rags-to-riches Edwardian story – from plucky orphans to long-lost relations to pleasingly unpleasant villains.

riverseaJourney to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

There’s more shades of Hodgson Burnett in this utterly gorgeous book from one of my favourite children’s authors, Eva Ibbotson. Orphan Maya is excited when she is sent away from her ordinary life at school in England to live in South America with some unknown relatives – but her new life soon proves fraught with challenges. Yet the lush Amazonian jungle offers unexpected consolations – and before long, a wild adventure beckons. A touring play of Little Lord Fauntleroy once again makes an appearance here, alongside another brave orphan heroine, some vile villains, and a particularly wonderful governess in Miss Minton. A truly joyous read.

flambardsFlambards by KM Peyton

There’s another orphan/heiress at the centre of this story for older readers, which is the first in a trilogy. Christina is sent to an impoverished country house, Flambards, where she is to live with her tyrannical, brutish uncle and her cousins Mark and Will. Life at Flambards is tough and sometimes unpleasant, but Christina soon discovers a passion for horses and hunting she never imagined. But while Mark shares her love of hunting, it’s Will – who hates riding and instead dreams of flying aeroplanes – with whom Christina strikes up a close relationship. Far from a cosy country-house novel, this is a powerful young adult book, tackling the subject of class as well as the challenges of adolescence. There are two sequels which follow Christina and Flambards into the First World War and beyond.

magiciansnephewThe Magician’s Nephew by CS Lewis

C.S. Lewis knew exactly what he was doing when he set this, my favourite of the Narnia books, at the time when ‘Mr. Sherlock Holmes was still living in Baker Street and the Bastables were looking for treasure in the Lewisham Road’. In doing so he immediately evokes the spirit of Edwardian children’s literature – and Edwardian London. The story follows Polly and Digory who live next-door to each other in terraced houses with interconnecting attics. An encounter with Digory’s rather sinister Uncle Andrew whisks them away via a magic ring to the mysterious Wood Between the Worlds – and then to the land of Narnia where they encounter Queen Jadis. The influence of Christianity (and here, in particular, the story of Genesis) on Lewis’s writing is well known but I think it’s interesting to note that E Nesbit is also a clear inspiration for Lewis. In particular The Magician’s Nephew has a lot in common with Nesbit’s The Story of the Amulet which also features magic jewellery and a powerful ancient queen transported to 1900s London.

And one final book I want to mention which is absolutely not a children’s book at all…

childrensbooThe Children’s Book by AS Byatt

Adults who are interested in the history of Edwardian children’s literature should absolutely read this captivating and completely engrossing novel by AS Byatt which won the Booker Prize. An extraordinary portrait of the period from the end of the 19th century until the First World War, it’s rich with references to everything from the suffragettes to the Arts and Crafts movement. At its centre is the children’s writer Olive Wellwood (loosely inspired by E Nesbit) and many real writers including JM Barrie and Kenneth Graeme also appear in its pages. Amongst many other things, Byatt’s novel is a powerful exploration of Edwardian childhood and what it might mean to write for and about children – including the darker sides of fairy-tale and children’s fiction.

What are your favourite Edwardian-set children’s books? If you have any recommendations please do let me know in the comments.  And you can find out more about the real Edwardian history behind the Sinclair’s Mysteries and Taylor & Rose Secret Agents series here.

The Sinclair’s Mysteries – quick and easy dressing up for World Book Day

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World Book Day is just around the corner – and if you’re looking for a book-themed fancy dress outfit, why not dress as Sophie, Lil or one of the characters from the Sinclair’s Mysteries?

I’ve seen some amazing Sinclair’s costumes over the last few years – if you fancy having a go at creating one yourself, try out one of these quick and easy ideas, using things you’ll probably already have in your wardrobe (or maybe your dressing-up box!)

Sophie14e5d0a21fc73ebdd30403499b3c17d6

As she approached, her heart began to thump, and she put up a hand to check that her hat, with its blue ribbon bow, was at exactly the right angle, and that her hair was not coming down.

To dress as Sophie, wear a long, dark-coloured skirt; a blouse with a lace collar; and a straw hat with a ribbon round it. Sophie usually wears her hair pinned up. You could maybe add a green bead necklace like the one Sophie often wears – or perhaps a magnifying glass for spotting clues!

Lil

She was wearing a hat wreathed in poppies and she had a crimson scarf at her neck.

Lil might wear glamorous clothes when she’s performing in the theatre, but for normal life, she’d wear an outfit very similar to Sophie’s. Lil usually wears her long hair down. She also loves bright colours, so you might want to add a colourful scarf, or put some brightly-coloured flowers around her hat.

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Billy

He was wearing the Sinclair’s porters’ uniform – trim, dark blue trousers, a matching jacket with a double row of brass buttons and a peaked hat – but the jacket looked a bit too big for him, the trousers a bit short, and the hat was askew…

Create your own version of Billy’s Sinclair’s department store uniform with a dark-coloured jacket and trousers, plus maybe a cap. As a shop porter, Billy will need some brown-paper parcels or boxes to carry – and of course, a notebook and pencil for making a note of any mysterious goings-on!

Joe

Working in the Sinclair’s stables, Joe tends to be more casually dressed than Billy. Wear a shirt, some trousers, a flat cap and perhaps some braces – but most importantly of all, make sure you’ve got a toy dog by your side to be Daisy the faithful Sinclair’s guard-dog.

fc550db35b34ffd3dcf2e745a7a88177Mr Sinclair

A champagne glass was in his hand, and he wore an exquisite dress coat over a snowy white waistcoat, against which a gold watch chain gleamed.

Why not dress up as the mysterious Mr Sinclair himself? Mr Sinclair is always very elegant: he wears a smart suit with a white shirt. You could add a bow-tie, a top-hat, a pocket-watch, or a flower for his button-hole. Don’t forget a soft toy dog to be Lucky, Mr Sinclair’s pet pug!

‘Red Hands’ Randall

One of my favourite costumes I spotted last year was villainous Red Hands Randall from The Painted Dragon! For this costume, you’ll need a dark jacket and trousers, a flat cap or bowler hat and of course a pair of red gloves… plus a very sinister expression!

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‘…she was dressed very beautifully in a much-ruffled, lace-trimmed ivory gown. She must be one of this season’s debutantes, and a particularly wealthy one at that.’

Fashionable young ladies like Veronica and her friend Phyllis would wear long dresses, trimmed with lace or frills. These would usually be in light colours like white, ivory, pale pink or pale blue – bright or dark colours would have been considered in very bad taste! A bridesmaid dress or a long party dress would be a great place to start. Remember to add some ladylike accessories such as  white gloves, a pearl necklace, or even a parasol. Of course, you’ll also need a hat decorated with flowers, bows or feathers. Maybe you could even add a sparkly brooch to your outfit to be the mysterious jewelled moth itself…

Tilly

In The Midnight Peacock we meet Tilly – a housemaid who soon finds herself investigating something strange at grand Winter Hall. To dress as Tilly, you’ll need a long dark-coloured dress and a white apron. To complete your outfit, you could add a frilly white maid’s cap.

If you’re looking for more costume inspiration, take a look at my Edwardiana Pinterest board, which is full of Edwardian fashions.

If you do dress up as a character from the Sinclair’s Mysteries, make sure you send me a picture! And if you’re looking for more Sinclair’s Mysteries related things to do for World Book Day, there’s some ideas here.