Happy Saturday, lovely readers!
Today I am welcoming debut author Suzie Hull to my blog – Suzie’s WWI novel, IN THIS FOREIGN LAND was released in November and is currently 99p on Amazon UK!
Welcome Suzie, I look forward to reading your post…
Thank you so much for hosting me, Rachel.
My debut historical novel was published in November by Orion Dash. In This Foreign Land is set in Cairo and London during 1914 and the early years of WW1. Isobel Harris is an artist and accompanies her new friend, Alice, out to Cairo to be reunited with her new husband. It is in Cairo that Isobel meets her childhood friend again and falls passionately in love. Unfortunately for the young couple war breaks out and they are torn apart. Will their love survive the war, and will they ever be reunited?
A lot of people have commented on the research that went into the Cairo setting, so I wanted to share the background to that and to pass on some of the resources I used for research.
I was extremely fortunate when I sat down to write the novel that my sister passed over two travel diaries that belonged to her husband’s side of the family. The first diary written in 1907, belonged to Emma, mother to a grown-up daughter Lina who was newly married, and the second diary belonged a young woman who was travelling to Egypt to be married.
Emma’s diary, as befits a mother, was incredibly practical and a treasure trove of information for me. Emma was interested in where she ate, what she saw, what people were wearing (including jewellery), how she got to places and who she spent her days with. Thankfully these are all things I needed to know.
The diary starts in February 1907 when they sailed from Dover to Calais on a rather rough day. They used the Ladies salon and the stewardess handed out basins to everyone, and everyone used them! They then got the train from Calais to Paris that evening, (again in the Ladies’ carriage) and spent some time in the city with family and friends. Emma lists where they went shopping, (Maison Lafayette), where they had dinner, what they bought and how much things cost.
The next stage of their journey was by train. ‘We started by the Cote d’Azur for Nice, left the Gare de Lyon at 9.05am and arrived at 10.30pm in Nice.’ Emma then described their stay in Nice and the towns along the coast. Monte Carlo was very popular with a trip to the casino. She always listed how they travelled; sometimes by tram, sometimes by carriage, and sometimes by ‘motor’. Incidentally that is why I always referred to cars as motors in my novel.
From France they then set off again to Italy by train along the coast and then sailed from Naples on the Oceana to Alexandria. Again, the sailing was a little rough. ‘At 12.30 I took a bouillon with eggs and kept it down and was able to take my tea and dinner in comfort.’
By the beginning of March, they had arrived in Cairo. ‘Just returned from tea at Shepheard’s. It is a very fine hotel in Moorish style while the one we live in here is more continental.’ Emma continues to describe most of what they do every day. They visited the pyramids and Mena House hotel and had a ride on a camel. I think the Mena house hotel grew on her as the first time she mentioned it she thought it ‘very dear and not good’, but she did return twice more.
Shepheard’s hotel got lots of mentions in the diary, (they served a good tea which seemed very important to Emma) and so I based my heroine, Isobel and her sister Cecily, in the same hotel. Emma always wrote lots of details that is perfect for anyone needing authentic touches. ‘Last night we went to Shepheard’s Hotel where there was a Venetian Fête, followed by a dance. The garden looked lovely, being all lit up with electric lights and lamps amongst very high trees, shrubs and grass.’
Although Emma never stated which hotel she was staying in, my sister deduced it must be the Hotel Continental, just down the street from Shepheard’s. One night the electric lights went out during dinner, and they were all plunged into darkness and had to eat by candlelight. I’m sure she’d be surprised to think that over a hundred years later we still have that problem!
Emma was curious about new things and particularly enjoyed experiencing the wedding of an Egyptian lady which a mutual friend took her to. Sadly, her trip came to an end, and she returned to London the same way she had travelled, via Naples, Nice and Paris, two months later.
Another resource I utilised was the Baedeker guide for Egypt and the Sudan; (with 22 maps, 85 plans and 55 vignettes, original price was 20s.) Although I wasn’t able to buy a copy there was one online that I was able to read for free, although sadly that is not the case now. Whilst there are still copies of the version I used for sale, it would set you back a couple of hundred pounds to buy. I do own a 1909 guide to Northern France which I bought off eBay for not too much money, (which I used for my second novel as it’s set in France in 1914). I had hoped I’d find some interesting handwritten notes or love letters in it, but all I found were some nondescript doodles. The beauty of the Baedeker guides is all the information with travel routes and timings, hotels, prices, and lots of other details that can be slipped into a novel. Some of the details have not aged well seen through a modern lens, but when you really need to find out what days the boats sailed and what routes they took, and where to buy a ticket, the books are highly useful.
Another book I read for more background details was the Grand Hotels of Egypt in the Golden Age of Travel, by Andrew Humphreys. He also has a website which you can read here. http://grandhotelsegypt.com The website has a host of blogposts and information, and you could surely lose a whole week reading it all, but if you are planning on setting a novel in Egypt it is really worth a look at.
In Chapter One, Isobel and Alice are drinking Champagne cocktails on deck on their last night before arriving in Egypt. I tried to research what went into a Champagne cocktail and found quite a collection but even though I never stated what was in the drink, this is what I decided upon.
Champagne Cocktail:
1 lump of sugar in a Champagne cocktail glass, saturate with Angostura bitters, fill with iced Champagne, add a slice of orange. (I used a cherry). Brandy can also be added.
The recipe was taken from a little book I bought on eBay, knowing that it would come in handy one day. The United Kingdom Bartenders’ Guild Guide to Drinks. My copy was actually published post WW2 but I drew a blank on Edwardian Cocktail recipes. The back cover does have some pencil marks; someone’s phone number perhaps?
Isobel’s clothes:
I was gifted a gorgeous book published by the V&A museum and it was from this that I drew a lot of inspiration for Isobel and Cecily’s clothes. The book details the life of Heather Firbank and her large wardrobe of clothes that were faithfully kept by her maid. There are photographs and illustrations of the gowns she wore, plus plenty of accessories and the places she purchased her items.
There was one item in particular which I used for the sisters; it was a short elasticated corset, made of cotton and satin and included suspenders. It seemed to be something a modern young woman would be purchasing at that time, as it was only to the waist and would give them more freedom.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/London-Society-Fashion-1905-1925-Wardrobe/dp/1851778314
The book is filled with gorgeous mouth-watering photographs of women’s fashion from 1905-1925, so if that covers the years that you write then I know you’ll find it fascinating.
I also used early films of Cairo that I found on YouTube. I scoured them for anything taken as close to 1914 as I could. I was looking for contemporary clips of the city and anything that would help me fill in the background of regular life for both Egyptians and tourists. The one clip that definitely found its way into my novel was one of a tram heading out to the pyramids. I made sure that Isobel used it she went to paint the pyramids, and Edward used it one afternoon when he thought Isobel was missing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3oTKK4IS8M
And lastly I used the British Newspaper Archives which I’m sure you’ve all heard of. Getting the background noise of the build-up to the war was crucial, and I popped in references to the papers I read throughout the novel.
I hope you found that information interesting. I’m sure all historical writers have their favourite and well treasured places that they go to when they are researching for a new book or new era, I’d love to hear what your favourites are.
At the moment, In This Foreign Land is available as an ebook, although paperbacks and audio are coming soon. If you love reading historical romance I’d be delighted to hear from you and I’m always a sucker for a new read myself, particularly anything set in WW1 & WW2.
I’m also on twitter as @SuzieHull1 and Instagram as @suziehull1 if you’d like to be friends and see photos of cats, cakes and historical fiction, (mostly cake though).
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‘I beg of you this one thing – that if I should perish here, in this foreign land, that you will look after her.’
March, 1914. When talented artist Isobel embarks on a journey to Egypt, it’s to reunite her best friend Alice with her husband, Wilfred – and to use the stunning sights of Cairo as inspiration for her own paintings.
A whirlwind romance was the last thing she expected, but when Isobel meets Wilfred’s handsome brother, Edward, neither can deny the strong connection between them – especially when unexpected tragedy strikes, leaving them all reeling.
Just as they get to grips with their grief, WW1 erupts, and the lovers are forced to separate. They promise to meet again in London. But when Edward is listed as ‘missing – presumed dead’ only weeks after landing in France, Isobel is devastated, unmarried and on the brink of ruin. She has only one way to save her honour… but it means betraying the love she holds so dear.
A heartrending and thrilling WW1 romance, In This Foreign Land is the stunning new debut from Suzie Hull, for fans of Kate Hewitt, Shirley Dickson and Kate Eastham.
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