Lady
in Waiting
Ah, Bath.
Brings to mind tantalizingly warm frothy thoughts,
doesn't it?
What? Oh, I didn't mean bath -- as in bubbles
and French hard-milled soap. Though sometimes there is nothing,
I mean nothing, better to relax a battle-worn body after
a day bent over a computer keyboard, or in the car shuttling kids
to soccer, then music lessons, then to play practice....
Actually, I mean England's ancient spa city --
Bath (though I can't think of a better place to soothe the body
and mind -- Bath has a fabulous spa built on the site of the Hot
Baths, complete with steaming mineral water soaks, massages...oh,
and the food!)
I have visited the charming city of Bath twice
(so far.) I truly fell so much in love with the city, with its sand-hued
buildings made of Bath stone, tiny streets and rugged medieval
walls, that I decided to set Lady in Waiting,
my January 2005 release for Warner Books, within the confines of
the charming city.
A stroll through the streets of Bath
Though I had great fun setting scenes throughout
the city of Bath, the heart of the book took place at Number 1
Royal Crescent, the winter home of two characters from my debut
novel, Rules of Engagement,
the elderly spinsters, Letitia and Viola Featherton.
Number 1 Royal Crescent is not
a figment of my imagination, however. It is actually a famed historic
building, set on one fanned end of the very posh Royal Crescent.
I was thrilled that the house is open to the public and that I
could tour the premises and chat with the docents (okay, I confess,
maybe 'annoy' the docents with my many odd questions is a more
accurate way of putting it.) When I learned that there is no record
of who lived in the house between 1814 and 1824, I of course moved
the Featherton ladies right in.
Beneath
the steps to Number 1 Royal Crescent’s entry way is the
door to the kitchen where my heroine Jenny Penny sold her “tingle” cream.
Pump and Circumstance
Many residents ventured to Bath in search of
treatment for any variety of ailments. It was considered both fashionable
and medicinal to wade in the hot baths, then to dress and take
the waters in the morning, where one could see and be seen. My
heroine in Lady in Waiting shares
my own opinion of the waters ... it's vile! I swear it tastes
like thick, warm sea water.
The Upper Assembly Rooms
The Upper Assembly Rooms, which is an easy walk
from the Royal Crescent (not that the Feathertons in my stories
would walk when a ride in a sedan chair was to be had), was the
setting for the story's glittering balls.
The
Upper Assembly Rooms
Traditionally, the balls always began at seven
o'clock and ended promptly at eleven...for health reasons, of course.
(Honestly, I think making an early evening of it was more attributable
to the advanced age of many of the city inhabitants rather that
for reasons of good health.)
