Hounslow Heath

One of the most important things for a historical novelist is to picture the landscape as it was in the past. Hounslow Heath was a notorious area during the 18th and 19th centuries, renowned for footpads and highwaymen. I was delighted to find this picture by Richard Wilson of the heath as it was around 1770: I have used the heath in the The Belles Dames Club for one of the incidents – I had not seen this picture then, but it fits perfectly with scene I had envisaged!

Melinda Hammond