Saturday 22 February 2014

A View of My Fantasy World


It was a bit of a surprise to see a picture of something that I thought I'd invented in my own head. On Facebook last night, I came across this picture, posted by Queen Marie Stuart of Scotland and France and shared by Celtic, Renaissance and Medieval Trims. Queen Marie said she'd found it on a Russian site which she couldn't translate.
I looked at it and saw a scene from my first novel, Like Father, Like Daughter.
Mal and his daughters are travelling down the river, on the run and hoping to get to someone who will protect them. They're on a wherry, because I like wherries, and it's called the Garnet after the wherry in Arthur Ransome's book set in the Norfolk Broads, Coot Club, which takes the twins Port and Starboard part way down the river. (That wherry is actually the Sir Garnet.) While most of the world of Ytir is medieval, I saw no reason not to add nineteenth century wherries if I wanted to.
On the way down the river, they stop for the night at the wharf of a riverside town - and in my imagination, it looked exactly like this picture. That's even the Maid of Moissac in the background, the bigger ship with the high stern.

Here's how it's described in the book:
"Mal leaned against the stone wall of the warehouse and stared down the dock again. It was almost full dark now, and the only light came from the tavern windows and a couple of lanterns hanging from the stern of the Maid of Moissac behind him. Ahead of him, there was another tavern, with another group of sailors hanging around the open door in the yellow glow of the lantern light.
He counted down the row of boats again: a wherry, the Swift; a long rowing boat called Esnecca; a gap and then another wherry, the Minnow. Where the Garnet had been there was a small patch of open water.
Mal sat down on the nearest barrel of fish and leaned back against the wall. Billy Garnet was going to be furious when he got back. His hand moved to the small money pouch at his belt, but he didn't need to open it to know that there wasn't enough there to buy him another passage down the river, and certainly not enough to compensate Billy Garnet for the loss of his boat. He doubted very much whether either of the girls could handle a boat. He knew Branwen had never so much as sat in a rowing boat before. At least they were on their way downriver, though, while he was stuck in Bredelais with soldiers and a sorcier searching for him."

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