Dear Readers,
When I have the good fortune to hear from you, whether in person or via e-mail, I am often asked about the amount and type of research I do for my novels. The simple answer is that it varies with the needs of each book. I always endeavor to be as thorough as I can, using primary sources (when available), reference books and other secondary sources, Internet resources (carefully evaluated), museums, hands-on experience, expert interviews, and anything else useful that I happen upon. When possible, I also visit a book’s settings to see them for myself and get a true sense of place. I never know what little detail—seemingly insignificant at the time—will prick my memory months later and become a critical component of the story.
Research for this novel took me from the cliffs of England’s Jurassic Coast to the decks of the HMS Victory (Admiral Nelson’s flagship from the Battle of Trafalgar) to subterranean smuggling caves. Because the book’s action occurs almost entirely in Lyme and on the Cobb—real places—I spent a considerable amount of time there, exploring the village and seawall, taking hundreds of pictures, asking questions of everyone I met. There is little room for fudging details in a mystery set somewhere readers can themselves visit.
Fortunately, one of the plot’s most unusual details—the Cobb’s “whispering gallery”—actually exists. It is not very well publicized—I learned about it from a small reference in “The Book of the Cobb,” a short monograph on the Cobb’s history for sale locally in Lyme. When I tested out the acoustical effect, I knew I had to use it somehow in the book. The Cobb suffered serious damage from a storm in 1824 and much of it had to be rebuilt, so there is no way of knowing whether the effect existed in Austen’s time—but that also means no one can say for certain that it did not. (Fiction writers love that kind of ambiguity!)
Except for Mrs. Smith’s bench, the other features of the Cobb that I mention (the gin shop, Granny’s Teeth, quay warehouses, steps on the southern arm, etc.) are also real and can still be seen. The shipyards are gone but the hamlet, Walk, and beach are still there—modernized, of course. The building thought to have been Austen’s inspiration for Captain Harville’s cottage is now a café. The Lion (now the Royal Lion) can still be found on Broad Street, but the Assembly Rooms have long since been torn down. Due to a fire, only the cellar of the Three Cups inn of Austen’s day still exists (now the basement of a bookstore). Another Three Cups was built up the street; though now closed, the building remains.
On another historical note, readers particularly well informed about Austen family history might recognize Perseverance as the name of the frigate on which Jane’s brother Frank (Francis William Austen) first sailed after completing his studies at the Royal Naval College. It is not the same ship Captain St. Clair commands at the end of this novel—St. Clair’s ship, like St. Clair himself, is fictional. But I could not think of a more appropriate name for the ship St. Clair and Georgiana sail off in following the events of the story, and the tie to Frank—one of Jane’s two naval brothers who inspired Persuasion—made it all the more perfect.
I hope you enjoyed The Deception at Lyme. To learn more about the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery series and forthcoming books, or to sign up for my e-newsletter, visit my website at www.carriebebris.com. While you are there, drop me a note—I love to hear from readers!
With warmest regards,
Carrie Bebris