This summer some Austen Authors will do a ‘show-and-tell’ about work spaces … where we write our stories.  The photo below is such a place for me.

(You can see more detail by clicking on any of the photographs.)

 

Unfortunately, this room is not in my house; so the inspiration comes first and the writing later. The museum is not far from where I live, and I visit this estate at least once a year to get a firsthand look at the furnishings and trappings of a wealthy gentleman (Richard John Uniacke) during the early 1800s.  My most recent visit was on July 1, and on that day there was a costume demonstration in which mannequins (Charles and Emma) were undressed and then re-garbed in all their many layers of early 19th century clothing.

Is this where I write my bird-brained stories?

Nope.  This desk belonged to Dr. McCulloch.  He came to Nova Scotia in 1803 and laid the groundwork for our education system.  Ornithologist James Audubon was a visitor at this house, and so was I on July 2. The place is a museum now, one of many on my list of day trips combining geocaching and research.  This is my ‘summer of discovery’. I know more about the Regency era in England than I do about the same period in my own little part of the world, but that’s about to change. Perhaps I’ll even write a local historical fiction some day.

 

 

Is this desk mine?

 

Of course not.  This one belonged to diarist Simeon Perkins, who documented daily life in Liverpool, N.S., from 1766 until 1812.  Imagine the wealth of information that might be gleaned from forty-six years of recording births, epidemics, deaths, etc.  Perkins was also a privateer and friend of Uniacke (mentioned above). Perkins, by the way, named one of his ships Charles Mary Wentworth.

On July 3 of this year the Town of Liverpool celebrated Privateer Days, and I (in company with my husband and daughter) attended a ‘Letter of Marque‘ geocaching event at an inn which was formerly the home of a privateer captain.  We spent an enjoyable day with friends and folks dressed as pirates, privateers, and Red Coats.  There was even a ‘Defence of the Crown’ reenactment … complete with muskets that had me jumping out of my skin every time a shot was fired.

 

I’ve become utterly fascinated with local history during Jane Austen’s era, so more day trips and visits to museums are on my agenda this summer.

 

“Yes, yes,”  you say.  “That’s all very well and good.  But where are the puns and the jokes?  And just where do you do your writing?  That is if you would stop gadding about, buckle down, and actually create something worthwhile, where would such occupation take place?”

 

Well, sometimes I write during our travels  … so that would mean the passenger seat of our Suzuki SX4; and quite often my muse finds me while hiking, so I always carry a notebook and pen in my backpack.  But most of the actual writing takes place at my desk in the study.

My writing space doesn’t always look this messy.  It’s usually much worse!   A teetering tower of paperwork normally sits atop the printer, and random scraps with jotted notes tend to pile up under the monitor.   I tidied the clutter a bit before photographing my ‘work station’.  That term reminded me of something I read a while ago:

 

The bus station is where the bus stops,

The train station is where the train stops,

And there’s a work station on my desk.

 

If you have questions about anything you see in the pictures, feel free to ask.  Some items have sentimental value.  For example, the little glass on the wall shelf is from the Georgian era.  It was given to me on my birthday last year by a work colleague. The clock with the gentleman in the pond makes me smile.  (Why?  I do believe Mr. Darcy took a plunge!)  I love my Jane Austen doll and mug, which were gifts from my daughters a few years ago; and my husband ordered the action figure as a surprise for me.  The wire basket next to the monitor contains goodies for AuAu readers.  By claiming prizes, you’ll be de-cluttering my work space; so please remember to leave comments!

 

There are more books in back of the monitor and on shelving behind me.  Some of the local history books were purchased at museum gift shops, and I hope to find more as I continue my ‘summer of discovery’.

 

While gadding about in search of history, I began to wonder where certain Regency characters might have gone on a day trip. Here’s a little anecdote about P&P day trippers visiting an historic site.

 

Charles Bingley accompanied his two sisters and his brother-in-law

on an outing to the Runnymede meadows on the banks of the River Thames.  

Bingley explained to them the site was, most likely,

where King John had placed his seal on the Magna Carta.

 

 

“When did that happen?” asked Caroline.

“1215,” answered Bingley.

 

Mr. Hurst glanced at his fob watch and said,

“Oh, blast!  We just missed it by half an hour!”