Sunday, April 17, 2016

Threads in the Tapestry

Having just come back from beautiful Derbyshire with my head full of my favourite places, here I am blogging about them a little more.

Deep into the heart of Derbyshire countryside, there is a delightful house with over 300 years of history: Sudbury Hall, now in the custody of the National Trust. As the guidebook informs the avid visitor, it is “largely the creation of George Vernon (1635/6 – 1702), ‘a prudent young man, sober and active’, as he was described by a contemporary [and very handsome too, as described by me :) ]. He succeeded to the estate in 1660 and almost immediately began to rebuild the old manor house of his ancestors, probably to his own designs.”

Hundreds of years down the line, it still boasts exquisite Louis Laguerre murals and painted ceilings, Grinling Gibbons carvings and the sparkling and flowery work of plasterers such as Bradbury and Pettifer. 

Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire
Photos Joana Starnes

Along with the hall, the surrounding village was remodelled and it has survived the passage of time, complete with a coaching inn, a school and even the village stocks.

Village of Sudbury, Derbyshire
Photos Joana Starnes

Lyme Park, Cheshire
Photo Joana Starnes


Sudbury’s real history is enthralling, but I must confess that I often dwell on its imaginary one. Because, along with another certain house in nearby Cheshire with its own 600 years of history, to me Sudbury Hall is Pemberley.

At every visit – and there were many, and hopefully many more – all sorts of details catch my eye and I squirrel them away, to be woven into the tapestry at some later point in time. The artistry of the carvings in the drawing room. The table set for a delightfully intimate dinner in the small dining room. The beautiful crayon sketch in the narrow hallway between the Queen’s Bedroom and the Porch Room, that could so easily be a lovingly-drawn likeness of a suitor or a brother. I know this is not the case, but one can dream.

Sudbury Hall, Saloon
Pemberley, Music room
Photo Joana Starnes
So I still dream as I look at the portraits displayed in the house and imagine them to be the ancestors of Pemberley’s master (who incidentally can also be described as a prudent young man, sober and active, who had succeeded to his estate at an early age and gave it his best).

The portrait of a stern-looking gentleman with proud patrician features could easily be Mr Darcy’s grandfather, who had married for love in his early youth, hoping for a ‘lifetime of felicity, in all human calculation’. The beautiful young woman in a dark velvet dress, smiling from underneath a hat bedecked with feathers, could be his first wife. The pretty but placidly resigned lady in a different portrait (much smaller than the other one) could be the woman he married for duty to his lineage and estate, when the love of his life was taken from him. And as she strolls with her husband and new sister and learns from them about the life stories behind the portraits, Elizabeth Darcy might muse whether the grandfather’s solemn features would still have been devoid of warmth and feeling in his fiftieth year, had his first wife lived...

And, months down the line, the parallel might become unbearably striking when times of anguish and peril revisit the Darcys. Or at least that was the inspiration for this fragment from Chapter 18 of my first novel, 'From This Day Forward – The Darcys of Pemberley’.



* * * *

The curtain twitched under a heavy hand and moved back to reveal the dreadful scene outside Pemberley House…
The dark hearse…
The coffin…
Fitzwilliam’s stony countenance, without life, without tears…
The long mournful procession going through the gates…
It is done…
It is over…
And there is nothing left…
Nothing at all…

Sobs, pitiful, broken sobs got through to her, and Georgiana awoke – drenched in cold sweats and in a flood of tears – to find they were her own.
“A nightmare,” she said aloud, to reassure – to persuade herself, and then again: “A nightmare!”
She sat up, still shaking, and got out of bed.
She had to see.
She had to be certain.
She donned her robe and tied the sash with trembling hands.
She did not light a candle – the moonlight would suffice.
She walked down the corridor and turned sharply at the end, towards Elizabeth’s bedchamber. She pushed the door open slowly, noiselessly, and only by a fraction.
And what she saw within tore at her heart.
Fitzwilliam was sitting in a chair by the bedside, his countenance as haggard and ashen as in her dreadful dream. He was holding Elizabeth’s hand, cradling it, without words, without tears.
And the mute despair in his eyes was devastating.
She turned to look towards the bed and waited, until the barely perceptible rise and fall of Elizabeth’s chest, with every breath, gave her the desperately needed answer. She withdrew and returned to her room, slowly, and very quietly. And bent to her knees, and prayed.
Again.
Fervently.
She prayed for her sister to survive.
For if Elizabeth did not, she knew not how her brother would.

* * * *

Quiet footsteps, eerily quiet, drew him from his trance.
He looked up – and followed.
The ghostly sound faded as he reached the eastern staircase and he took the steps two at a time, down to the bottom, where he had found her. A madman’s quest for he knew not what pushed him to the gallery. In the light of the moon, from her portrait, his grandfather’s first wife looked down upon him with the deepest compassion.
He dug his fingers in his hair.
A long, dry sob racked his chest as he pounded the frame of the unfortunate woman’s likeness, and broken gilt plaster fell to the floor.
He covered his mouth with his fist, stifling the groan.
And ran out of the deathly silent room, chased by his demons.

* * * *

If you think this was not exactly the lightest of blog-posts for a bright Sunday morning – or worse still, for a wet one ;) – and because I personally can’t bear angst unless I know the tale ends well, I have to assure you this one does too. I think all love stories deserve happy endings. Especially those involving Elizabeth and Mr Darcy who, to me, are the most romantic couple of them all.

Thanks for coming to Derbyshire with me. If you would like to see what else I might have dreamed up about the master and mistress of Pemberley, please follow the links.

                           Books by Joana Starnes on Amazon.co.uk
Website:             http://www.joanastarnes.co.uk/
Facebook:         http://www.facebook.com/joana.a.starnes
Twitter:              http://www.twitter.com/Joana_Starnes


15 comments:

El;izabeth Hawksley said...

I think Sudbury Hall looks wonderful, Joana - love your photos - and I can see exactly how you can imagine it being Pemberley. I was particularly impressed by the ceilings with their elegant plasterwork.

Joana Starnes said...

Thanks, Elizabeth, so glad you liked the photos. The plasterwork is quite amazing, the most intricate I'e ever seen apart from Claydon, and it was nowhere near as extensive there. Many thanks for visiting and for the lovely comment!

Deborah Ann said...

Thank you for sharing Sudbury Hall. I loved that story.

Deborah Ann said...

Thank you for sharing Sudbury Hall. I loved that story.

Christin said...

Oh Joana you devilish woman. Wonderful description of Sudburry Hall. Loved it but you make it harder to wait until September[when I'll visit Sudburry Hall for the first time]. And the excerp sounds intriguing. Haven't read this novel of yours yet but I think I'll.

Christin

Jane Odiwe said...

I wish I'd been with you on your wonderful travels, Joana- fabulous photos and a lovely post!

Joana Starnes said...

Thanks, Debbie! So glad you liked the Sudbury photos and 'From This Day Forward'!

Joana Starnes said...

You'll love it. I'm sure you will, Christin. No I don't think you read FTDF, hope you'll like it if you do. Hugs and thanks for popping over to have a look & roll on September!

Joana Starnes said...

I wish you'd been there, Jane, it's so much better to see those places with someone who loves them too! Thanks ever so much for the kind words, much appreciated :)

Glynis said...

Thanks Joana, I've never been to Sudbury Hall (except for the million times I've watched P&P) so thanks for the photos and the excerpt. I have this book now so am looking forward to reading it. Thanks for letting me know it ends happily. ��

Anji said...

Thanks for sharing your photos and visit to Sudbury Hall with us Joana and that excerpt from your first book. I'd forgotten how poignant it is.

Thankfully I do remember how it all turns out!

Can't wait for the new book to come out. Hope you're busy writing!

Anji said...

Thanks for sharing your photos and visit to Sudbury Hall with us Joana and that excerpt from your first book. I'd forgotten how poignant it is.

Thankfully I do remember how it all turns out!

Can't wait for the new book to come out. Hope you're busy writing!

Joana Starnes said...

Oh, Glynnis, you must go one day, you'll love it! Standing there and being surrounded by it all is magical! The first sight of the long gallery gave me goose bumps :)

So happy to hear you liked the excerpt! I hope you'll like the rest of the story too. Thanks for coming to read the post and for the lovely comment.

Joana Starnes said...

Thanks for the ever so kind words, Anji, I'm so glad you read and liked FTDF!

Yes, I'm busily writing :) Two at the same time, crazy, never happened before. I was happily minding my own business editing Book#1 when Book#2 idea sprung up (at the orthodontics, as I was waiting with my son for his appointment :D Crazy!) So guess who was in the common room in a Derbyshire campsite at 2am scribbling into a notebook (it was MUCH nicer and warmer than the tent), or scribbling across the lake from Lyme Park (much better than in the campsite common room :) )

Thanks for stopping by to read the post and comment.

Jen Red said...

I love these photos and the site. Very informative.