Susanna as seen on the cover of Murders and Other Confusions
illustration by Linda Weatherly S.
Susanna as seen on the cover of Murders and Other Confusions
illustration by Linda Weatherly S.
When her father died, Susanna became the ward of John Dudley, then Lord Lisle (a real historical figure--he was later created Duke of Northumberland and, still later, executed for treason). He arranged Susanna's betrothal to Robert Appleton when she was fourteen. The earliest short story written to date takes place just before Susanna's 1552 marriage to Robert and is included in the anthology Murders and Other Confusions. After their marraige, Robert took possession of Leigh Abbey. From 1553-1558, during the reign of Mary Tudor, Susanna lived there and helped Protestant leaders escape into exile. When Queen Elizabeth succeeded her sister, Robert took credit for this, even though he knew nothing about it at the time. The short story "Much Ado About Murder" involves events during Mary Tudor's reign. It first appeared in the anthology by the same name, Much Ado About Murder (2002).
Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie, the first novel in the series, takes place in 1559, when Susanna travels to Appleton Manor, Lancashire, to investigate the death of its steward. Her cautionary herbal was published in 1560 by John Day, printer (a real person), who plays a minor role in "Lady Appleton and the Cautionary Herbal," a short story in the March, 2001, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
More short stories of Susanna's adventures will be appearing in the future. Look for a collection of all of those written to date, some previously published and some new, in Murders and Other Confusions (Crippen & Landru Publishers, January 2004 -- trade paperback size).
What does Susanna look like? I imagined a cross between Jemma Redgrave (Bramwell) and Kathy Bates (Misery, etc.) Some people think she must look like me, and even persuaded me to dress up in Elizabethan clothing and have my picture taken. The costume shown here was on loan from the Theater at Monmouth, The Shakespearean Theater of Maine. The other illustration is a detail from artwork done for a short story that appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, by artist Linda Weatherly S.
In 1553, Robert backed the attempt to put the Lady Jane Grey on the throne and was imprisoned briefly when the effort failed. In 1554, he embraced Catholicism with sincerity, having been raised Catholic. In 1557 he left England with King Philip's army and fought at Saint-Quentin. Robert was knighted afterward. When Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1558, he switched allegiance to the New Religion and became an intelligence gatherer for the Crown.
What does he look like? A lot like Colin Firth, the actor who played the "Earl of Wessex" in Shakespeare in Love.
What does he look like? Imagine a cross between actor Richard Dreyfus and Peter Wingfield, the actor who played "Adam/Methos" on Highlander: The Series.
Mark--born in 1533 in Kent, Mark is in service at Leigh Abbey as head groom and butler when Lady Appleton starts solving crimes in 1559. Later he becomes steward at Leigh Abbey, marries, and has three children.
Lionel--born in 1546, Lionel is the gardener's boy in 1559 and promoted from book to book. He serves as "henchman" to Lady Appleton when she travels.
Fulke--born in 1544, Fulke is a groom of the stable in 1559 and, like Lionel, is promoted upward as the series advances. With Lionel, he is one of Lady Appleton's henchmen. Unlike Lionel, he spends some time traveling with Sir Robert to foreign parts before switching his allegiance to Susanna.
I have great plans for Rosamond. She's her father's daughter! Even though approximately two years pass between the events in each book in the series, it will be awhile before she's grown, but she has already offended Jennet by giving Jennet's son the ekename (nickname) "Mole." Look for Rosamond and Mole to play key roles in the eleventh book the Face Down series. At the rate I'm currently being published, that should be available around 2008. Below is a preliminary cover sketch for Face Down Beside St. Anne's Well that shows Rosamond at twelve. She's the one who looks bored by her sewing.
Nick's travels are based on what others did and what might have happened if
they'd done things just a bit differently. Here are the highlights. His father was a merchant of the staple, which
means he traded in wool. After serving as his father's apprentice in London, Nick went to Antwerp at the age of
twenty. By 1553, many Englishmen were interested in finding a northern route to the Indies. This led to trade with
Russia and, in 1555, Nick went to what was then called Muscovy as a stipendiary with the Muscovy Company.
In 1558, he accompanied Anthony Jenkinson (a real person) on a journey that was originally intended to retrace the
footsteps of Marco Polo. When it took Jenkinson nine months to reach Bokhara, however, and he was told it would
take another nine to reach China, he changed his mind and headed back to Moscow. At this point, I have Nick go off
on his own, on a totally fictitious journey into Persia.
In my fictional world, Nick crosses the Caspian to Derbent in 1559 and meets Abd Allah Khan, king of Shirvan and
ruler of the Uzbeg people (a real person). Then it's on to Qazvin, capital of Persia, where Shah Tahmasp (another real
person) rules. In my short story I have Nick return to England a wealthy man, bringing with him a cat he acquired
in Persia and a gift from Tahmasp to Queen Elizabeth.
A second "London Man" short story, set in Persia, explains how Nick acquired cat, gift, and wealth. The more I learn
about sixteenth-century Persia, the more fascinating I find it. Dangerous too--when Jenkinson arrived there two
years later, he offended the shah, who then threatened to cut off Jenkinson's head and send it to Suleyman the
Magnificent!
"The Rubaiyat of Nicholas Baldwin" (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine , September, 2001) was published with an illustration by Linda Weatherly S., a detail of which is reproduced below. Next to it is a more recent depiction of Nick, by the same artist, which appeared with "Lady Appleton and the Cripplegate Chrisoms" in the June, 2003 Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
APPEARING IN BOOK ONE ~ Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie
Although she is mentioned in most books in the series, she appears in only two, Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie, when Sir Robert Appleton has an audience with her at court, and Face Down Below the Banqueting House, where she exchanges words with Jennet, but not with Susanna, on Maundy Thursday at Court. Although the story involves a royal progress into Kent, and a stop is planned at Leigh Abbey, murder interferes. Below is a depiction of the Maundy ceremony described in the novel. It was painted by Lavina Teerlinck (d. 1576), well known as a limner and miniature painter at court, where she was first employed in 1546. She was a native of Ghent, the daughter of Simon Bennick or Benninck and married George Teerlinck or Terling. She was granted forty pounds per annum as a "paintrix" by Queen Mary and in 1562 gave this miniature of "the Queen's personne and other personages, in a box finely painted" as a New Year's gift
She's Queen of France when Sir Robert Appleton meets her in 1559. Their paths cross again two years later in Face Down Upon an Herbal when he is sent to Scotland on a mission to do with horses.
The Queen Mother of France in 1559, Catherine de' Medici gives Sir Robert Appleton a recipe for an antidote for poison. She is credited with poisoning a great number of people and accused of employing female spies to seduce secrets out of her enemies. How much of this is true is questionable, but in Lady Appleton's fictional world, Annabel MacReynolds is in the pay of this fascinating historical figure. Catherine's influence behind the scenes is brought to light in Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross
APPEARING IN BOOK THREE ~ Face Down Among the Winchester Geese
Younger sister of Lady Jane Grey (executed by Queen Mary Tudor) and Lady Catherine Grey (imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth) , the Lady Mary was at court as a maid of honor during the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth and became heiress presumptive to the throne of England after her sister's disgrace in December of 1560. She appears in Face Down Among the Winchester Geese. The plans Sir Robert Appleton has for her are pure fiction, but other plots mentioned in the story are real. She returns in Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross. Her marriage without the queen's permission led to her imprisonment, but she was released after her husband's death.
Robert Dudley was called Lord Robin by the queen and by those who spent time in the household of his father, John Dudley (variously Lord Lisle, Earl of Warwick, and Duke of Northumberland)--Susanna, Robert, and Walter. The death of his wife, Amye Robsart, under mysterious circumstances, created a scandal that ended all hope that he might marry the queen after Amye's death. Since Amye was dying of cancer, it is unlikely Robert murdered her, but I leave it to other novelists to speculate about what really happened. Both before and after being created earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley served as Master of the Queen's Horse. He remained close to Elizabeth until his death. He is mentioned in the first two books in the series and appears in person in key scenes in Face Down Among the Winchester Geese and Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross.
Also Bishop of Aquila, de Quadra was ambassador to England from 1559 until his death late in 1563. The embassy was at Durham House on the Strand, later occupied by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
APPEARING IN BOOK FOUR ~ Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross
This lively lady came to court in the last years of Henry VIII and captivated the much older William Parr, Marquis of Northampton. Northampton already had a wife but he married Elizabeth in 1547 and lived with her until they were ordered to separate. Their marriage was declared valid in 1548, invalid in 1553, and valid again in 1558--each change of monarch, and religion, changed Elizabeth's status. At the court of Queen Elizabeth, Lady Northampton was considered one of the queen's closest friends, but as early as 1564 she was known to be suffering from breast cancer. At that time she made a trip to Antwerp to visit doctors there, but no cure existed. The Brooke family seat was in Kent, making it possible for Susanna to have known Elizabeth Brooke before she went to court. They would also have met during the brief reign of Lady Jane Grey, since the Northamptons, like the Appletons, were supporters of the Duke of Northumberland's plan to put the Lady Jane on the throne of England.
.jpg)
APPEARING IN BOOK SIX ~ Face Down Before Rebel Hooves
Not to be confused with the Duke of Northumberland (John Dudley, executed for treason in 1554), this Northumberland was one of the leaders of the Northern Rebellion of 1569. His wife, Anne, is actually the more interesting personality. Anne Somerset, Countess of Northumberland (d. 1591) became the subject of legends after the failure of the uprising. She fled first to Scotland (the Debateable Lands) and then went into exile on the Continent, where she eventually died of smallpox.
With the earl of Northumberland, Westmorland led the Northern Rebellion, AKA, the Rising of the Northern Earls. It would have been better named the Rising of the Northern Countesses, since Westmorland's wife, Jane, sister of the Duke of Norfolk, had more to do with raising the troops than her husband did. Jane Howard, Countess of Westmorland (1537-1593) was well educated but perhaps not the most clever of women when it came to understanding political machinations. She was first to urge the rebels to rise up against the queen and yet she expected Elizabeth to pardon her when they failed. She hoped to arrange the marriage of her brother, the Duke of Norfolk, to Mary Queen of Scots and put them both on England's throne. Norfolk was executed for treason in 1572. Lady Westmorland lived under house arrest for the rest of her life. The earl fled to the Continent and lived there in exile.
Dacre was a younger brother of the first husband of the Duke of Norfolk's third wife. When she died in 1567, the Dacre fortune passed into Norfolk's control. Leonard was not happy. He betrayed both sides in the Northern Rebellion.
Steward of Barnard Castle for the queen, Sir George was the sworn enemy of the Percies, the Nevilles, and the Dacres. his home at Streatlam was destroyed during the Northern Rebellion.
A supporter of Mary Queen of Scots, Kerr lived near Jedburgh and was in constant trouble with his neighbors on both sides of the Border. He was one of the left-handed Kerrs and the story goes that their castle was built with that in mind. All the servants were trained to be left-handed also. Kerr sheltered the countess of Northumberland after the failure of the Northern Rebellion. I wanted to use Kerr again in Book Ten, which returns to Scotland in 1577, but although some accounts say he was in a period of relative peace at that time and not at odds with the government, others state he was still in exile in August of that year, the customary way to avoid arrest for criminal activities. At the time of his death he was about to be arrested and tried for murder.
APPEARING IN BOOK SEVEN ~ Face Down Across the Western Sea
APPEARING IN SHORT STORIES ~ Murders and Other Confusions
APPEARING IN BOOK EIGHT
BEHIND THE SCENES IN BOOK EIGHT
APPEARING IN BOOK NINE
APPEARING IN BOOK TEN
© 2009 Kathy Lynn Emerson. All rights reserved.
Last updated 1/24/2009