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The Kingsbridge and Salcombe Gazette and South Hams Gazette Rosemary Griggs - the clothes make the woman - 4 April 2024
April 07, 2024Author Rosemary Griggs’ latest novel, The Dartington Bride, is the second in the ‘Daughters of Devon’ series. She tells Richard Torne how strong women in a male-dominated world helped shape the country during the 16th Century, and why dressing up in costume gets you in the right frame of mind. "As soon as I put those clothes on I hold myself differently, I walk and speak differently – I’m a lady" (Rosemary Griggs) Griggs’s love of all things Elizabethan extends to her dressing up in period costume, but there’s a method to the madness, so to speak. It all started while she was volunteering for the National Trust and she was asked if she wouldn’t mind dressing up in Elizabethan clothes while talking to visitors. Before long she was knee-deep in research – a trait evidenced in both her novels – and she developed a penchant for making period costumes. You could say she lived the part as she is often seen wearing one of her creations during book signing sessions. “It’s a great way of understanding what it felt like to be them. As soon as I put those clothes on I hold myself differently, I walk and speak differently – I’m a lady,” she explains, almost in wonderment. “It gets you in character. You have to strip away all the modern stuff and see the world through their eyes.” Her first novel, A Woman of Noble Wit, tells the story of Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother, Katherine Champernowne. She may have been infinitely less famous than her explorer son, but creating strong female leads who forge their own path has become a hallmark of hers. In her latest work, The Dartington Bride, she brings to life another little known historical character, Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery, a young French woman who marries into one of Devon’s most prominent families. “Although we don’t know much about them, women did lead interesting and important lives. They were left to look after everything while their husbands went off sailing around the world. “It was a patriarchal society and their acceptance of that sometimes is a bit hard coming from a modern perspective to understand, but they worked within that and exercised their own power. They needed to be resilient.” Finding out about the real people behind the titles and names was no easy task, however. “Women don’t feature very often in the historical record. There are a few milestones in a woman’s life, but there’s an awful lot of gaps in between. My task is to weave a story about those milestones,” she adds. Another running theme is the characters’ connection with the county, and the latest novel is no exception. The Dartington Bride is the latest novel by the Newton Abbot-based author (Troubador Publishing ) “Dartington Hall is one of the most stunning historical buildings in the whole of Devon. People don’t really realise quite how far back the history goes.” And to add to the mystique, Dartington can boast having its own ghost story. “There’s the Countess’s room where people heard ghostly footsteps and saw apparitions. It’s been linked to the story and it’s almost certainly the room where Roberda’s mother stayed when she was in Dartington.” Discussing such well known Devonians as Francis Drake, John Hawkins and Walter Raleigh inevitably leads to their links with the slave trade and the country’s wider colonial past. It’s a controversial topic that has sparked a tug-of-war between those who argue that judging the past by the moral standards of the 21th Century is folly, and those who believe that our interpretation of history must evolve to have any relevance. Griggs believes it’s a conversation we should be having, either way. “I don’t subscribe to the view that we’re re-writing history; we’re merely re-examining it from the whole range of perspectives of the people who were involved.” During her research she came across some historical nuggets, such as the fact that native Americans may have settled in Devon much earlier than previously thought, and that the locals weren’t particularly keen on taking in Huguenot refugees who had fled France during the infamous St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572 – a societal clash that sounds eerily familiar. “Initially, there was this huge outpouring of sympathy and the Queen was quite happy to welcome them because they were bringing useful skills to England, particularly in weaving, but suddenly people started to fear that they were taking their jobs. This was a dreadful time of poor harvests, food was in short supply and they were having their own cost-of-living crisis.” And where will she take readers next in her ‘Daughters of Devon’ series? “I haven’t quite finished with Roberda. I’m going to take her and the Champernownes through the time of the Spanish Armada,” she says, adding that it was a terrifying time for the people of Devon, as many feared that the invading force would try to land in Plymouth. It might be better not to wear long skirts if you’re planning on fleeing to the hills.
https://www.southhams-today.co.uk/news/rosemary-griggs-the-clothes-make-the-woman-676053
Author interview on BBC Radio Devon
From BBC Radio Devon | April 07, 2024On Easter Monday, 1 April 2024, Author Rosemary Griggs chatted with Caroline Cooke about her new book The Dartington Bride on BBC Radio Devon. The interview is about an hour and a half into the programme
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_devon
Rosemary Griggs: turning a passion into a profession
From Interview for Troubador Publishing | April 05, 2024Author and speaker Rosemary Griggs has been researching Devon's sixteenth-century history for years. Her novel A Woman of Noble Wit tells the story of Katherine Champernowne, Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother, and features many of the county’s well-loved places. In this case study, she discusses how what started as an interest and a hobby has turned into a budding writing career. Tell us a bit about yourself. After a long career in the Civil Service, working in Whitehall, I retired to Devon and started to research the county’s sixteenth-century history. I also became immersed in the world of sixteenth-century fashion. I have even brushed up my dressmaking skills to recreate garments from that era. By dressing as they did and walking in their footsteps, I’ve been able to connect with the women of Devon who lived through the challenging Tudor years. I’ve gained unique insights into their world that no book could provide, which helps me to tell their stories and share their experiences in my writing. Using a blend of theatre history and re-enactment, I also give presentations for museums and community groups throughout the West Country. How did you get into all things 16th century in the first place? I first discovered history in primary school. Over time, it has become a passion that has never faded, even though my career took a different direction. The Tudor and Elizabethan eras have always held a special fascination for me. The tales of Henry VIII, his wives, and the courtiers of Mary and Elizabeth still captivate me. However, I also wanted to explore the lives of the women in England who lived outside the royal court, particularly those in Devon. During my time as a volunteer at Compton Castle, a small fortified manor house, the National Trust asked me to create a costume to portray a historical character for visitors. However, I didn't just want to look the part by "dressing up." I wanted to delve deeper and understand how the clothes were crafted and what it felt like to wear them. This led me to conduct extensive research, which unveiled numerous unexpected links between clothing and Tudor life. Studying clothing and fashion has led me to research health, hygiene, fabrics, dyes, and the people involved in making clothes like weavers, dyers, tailors, and embroiderers. I’ve also discovered the Guilds overseeing their crafts and trade. Along the way, I met Devon merchants who made fortunes selling wool and woollen cloth. I’ve even delved into politics, international relations, and piracy. Where did the idea for your first book, A Woman of Noble Wit, come from? I came across Katherine Champernowne, the main character in my first book, at Compton Castle, the home of the Gilbert family. I discovered that Katherine was the mother of two famous Elizabethan adventurers: Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh. When I found her mentioned in Foxe’s book of Martyrs, which was published during her lifetime, I knew I had to tell her story. What led you to consider self-publishing your work? I decided to self-publish to maintain control over my work. I didn’t want a publisher to push me towards trends like murder, mystery or time-slip romance. I also didn’t want to be encouraged to write another version of Anne Boleyn’s life. I wanted to tell the stories of the women of sixteenth-century Devon my way. Time was also a major factor. At my age, I couldn’t wait for months to be noticed by an agent and then wait again for a publisher. What do you wish you had known before self-publishing? I wish I had known more about different ways to promote and market my book. I’ve been on a steep learning curve to find the best and most affordable ways to help readers find my work. Building my website has been vital, and now I’m expanding my reach through social media and regular newsletters to a growing following. A Woman of Noble Wit has been published in paperback, ebook and audiobook – what would be your advice to an author considering publishing in multiple formats? Consider your target audience and where they are likely to buy books. In my case, many of my readers prefer to buy physical books from local bookshops. That is why I opted not to release just an eBook. Thanks to Troubador's supported self-publishing model, my book is now available in many local bookstores as a paperback. At first, I didn't realise the popularity of audiobooks, so I released a paperback and eBook before the audiobook. For my next book, I plan to release all three formats together. This way, I hope to increase sales and engage more readers. What has been your biggest challenge as a self-published author? My biggest challenge is managing my time. I am busier now than I have ever been, but I’m enjoying the challenge of balancing my public speaking engagements, which are a brilliant way to showcase and sell my books, with writing, research and sewing, What has been the highlight of your self-publishing journey so far? Seeing copies of A Woman of Noble Wit regularly placed on the Historical Fiction table in Waterstones, alongside books by famous writers like Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory. You have a new book due to be published - tell us a little about it. The Dartington Bride is the extraordinary story of Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery, who came to Elizabethan England to marry into one of Devon’s most prominent and well-connected families. After a traumatic childhood in war-torn France, Roberda arrives full of hope for her wedding in England. But her ambitious bridegroom, Gawen, has little interest in taking a wife. Received with suspicion by the servants at her new home, Dartington Hall in Devon, Roberda works hard to prove herself as mistress of the household and to be a good wife. But some will never accept her as a true daughter of Devon. After a narrow escape from the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris, Roberda’s family are welcomed at Dartington Hall as refugees. Roberda is determined to help other French women left destitute by the wars. But her husband does not approve. Their differences set them on an extraordinary path... For this book, I conducted research in France and also explored ‘behind the scenes’ at Dartington Hall in Devon, where much of the story is set. The Dartington Bride will be released in March, and I am already working on the next novel in my Daughters of Devon series.
https://www.troubador.co.uk/success-stories/rosemary-griggs-success-story
A woman of Noble Wit reaches the number one spot
From Amazon listing | March 04, 2024The Kindle version of A Woman of Noble Wit, the story of Sir Walter Raleigh's mother reached number one spot in the Amazon listings on 3 March 2024. "I'm thrilled that so many people are reading my novel,' said author Rosemary Griggs. "Katherine was a remarkable Devon woman, who lived through the tumultuous Tudor years, but until now little has been known about her. I'm so pleased more people are discovering her though my book.'
amzn.to/3IiEP7U