A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith

This debut mystery, set at the turn of the 20th century at London’s Inner Temple, brings to life the arcane, fascinating world of Britain’s legal elite. Sir Gabriel Ward is a quiet but brilliant barrister, sometimes overlooked by his colleagues because he spends all his time in his Temple rooms or his professional chambers, just yards apart. His routine is upended one morning when he finds a dead body on the threshold of his chambers - the Lord Chief Justice, whom he has known since childhood.

Cornwall, Part 2

One sign of a successful trip is when you keep eagerly saying or thinking, “When I return . . .”

Overlooking Peel Cove, near Menabilly

Cath had asked what parts of Cornwall I was particularly interested in seeing, and I vaguely thought of artists in St. Ives but said I deferred to her judgment, except that I yearned to see Fowey, the setting of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989).

Cornwall, Part 1

Having read many books set in Cornwall, I was eager to see it for myself and asked my friend Cath of Read-warbler, who grew up there, if she and her husband could spare the time to go there with me, following my month in London. I was delighted when she agreed not only because I knew it would be fun to meet her in real life but also because I knew I would see more of Cornwall with two experts. And I suspected that three book lovers would never run out of things to say!

St. Ives from above

Day 25 – Apsley House and Pub Quiz

It was hard to know what to savor on my last day in London. We were asked to do an evaluation of the British Studies program on computers in an underground classroom which took until after 10:00, and then I unexpectedly had to put together a PowerPoint, one of my least favorite things to do. Once that was done, I set off to visit the London Review Bookshop and, just as importantly, its cake shop next door, as I was craving Victoria sponge cake.

Day 24 – The Globe Theatre

On our last day of formal study, we visited the Archives of the Globe Theatre, which is a modern reconstruction of Shakespeare’s 16th-century theatre with a repertoire of Shakespeare and other plays. It is located on the bank of the Thames and consists of a theatre and education center (see website).

The Globe, during King Lear

Day 23 – The British Library and King Lear

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world, with more than 170 million objects, including books.  It is a legal deposit library like the Library of Congress. This means it receives copies of all books published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Before 1973, the Library was part of the British Museum but now has its own impressive building near St. Pancras Station as well as storage facilities in Yorkshire. The Library is open to everyone who needs to use its collections. Anyone with a permanent address who wishes to carry out research can apply for a Reader Pass; they are required to provide proof of signature and address. I myself obtained one during our first week in London. The Library’s website is available here; the special collections are also set forth.

Hello, George III!

Day 22 – Bletchley Park

Having read a lot of historical fiction set during WWII in which Bletchley Park and those who worked there played a part, I was excited to visit on Monday with my class. It was a gray London day as we took the tube to Euston and then the train to Buckinghamshire, about 40 minutes away. I was very surprised at how close Bletchley was to the station; I thought I recalled reading about people arriving with luggage at night and not being able to walk there.  Later, I asked one of the guides if the train station was in the same place as during the war and he said yes.  Perhaps the blackout and lack of signs made it seem farther or more impenetrable than it was?

The Bletchley Mansion

Days 20 and 21 – Visiting Wells Cathedral

On Saturday, I got up hideously early in order to catch a coach from Victoria Station to Bristol, then another to Wells, which I had heard was a lovely place to visit. Due to an ominous weather forecast and having frozen the previous Saturday, I was bundled up and braced for the worst but my timing was perfect - as I arrived in England’s smallest city, the sun came out after what they told me had been a deluge.

Days 18 and 19 – Marylebone Library and Museum of Docklands

Our visit on Thursday was to my friend Nicky Smith’s nearby Marylebone Library, which is a public library affiliated with the Borough of Westminster.

The Children's area at street level

Day 17 – The British Museum

On Wednesday, Archivist Francesca Hillier took us behind the scenes for a closer look at what is in the British Museum’s collection and we were stunned, not only by the sheer volume and breadth of their archives but also by the modest staff available to work on it. The British Museum’s Central Archive is located in the middle of its Great Court on the main floor: a large, round room that is blocked off to the public and kept locked.

Day 16 – The Foundling Museum

There was a Tube strike on Tuesday, and while their dispute over pensions and job cuts is probably legitimate I can only imagine the negative economic impact of the strike during high tourist season, not to mention lost productivity as workers come in late or not at all.

Day 15 – The National Maritime Museum and Caird Library in Greenwich

Today we went to visit the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, which has its own library and archives. We were early for our library tour so we had nearly an hour to tour the museum. There was a Canaletto exhibition but after looking at a display of elegant ocean liner travel, I headed upstairs to see Britain’s most accomplished naval war hero, Lord Nelson.

Young Nelson, 1992

Day 14 – Sunday in Hampstead Heath

I thought Sunday seemed the perfect day to walk on Hampstead Heath, so first I found a church in the neighborhood and took a bus there. St Mary's was the first Catholic church to be built in Hampstead after the English Reformation and it took until the 19th century. The church is tucked away on a quiet street among residential homes. The Abbé Jean-Jacques Morel, a refugee from the French Revolution, was its first pastor. The little chapel was completed in less than a year and opened in 1816. At that time, most of the congregation were French refugees. During WWII, General Charles de Gaulle worshipped at the church. Another notable, Graham Greene, was married at this church in 1927.

The city is visible in the distance

Day 13 – Visiting Green Knowe

It was my friend Kathy Baxter who told me she had visited the house upon which The Children of Green Knowe is based and if I had fully grasped how close it is to Cambridge, my mother and I could have gone there four years ago. After rereading the book in August, I was determined to make the Manor at Hemingford Grey part of this trip. I felt shy about writing to Diana Boston, who is the daughter-in-law of author L.M. Boston (1892-1990) and has lived in the house since she moved in to help Lucy after a stroke, but she responded to my email quickly and invited me to come on Saturday, June 18th when she had two tours already scheduled.

Day 12 – Notting Hill

Friday was a free day but it was again very hot so I tried to think of something leisurely to do – Notting Hill and Portobello Road! Notting Hill is interesting because of the movie and also because Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James in Deborah Crombie’s mystery series live there (I wished I had checked my books for the street before I left Boston).

Day 11 – King's College Library

Thursday began with breakfast in Regent’s Park with Desiree and Erin. We walked in from Marylebone Road, then followed signs for a café and wound up next to some tennis courts. I had a chocolate croissant and inspected the books on a community shelf in the back. I found a book by Annie Groves that looked appealing. The others kept on walking but I returned to the dorm only to learn bad news: one of our group had tested positive and been quarantined in her room for five days. Getting Covid is no joke and being confined to one of these claustrophobic rooms as a heat wave is beginning sounded pretty grim. Everyone was somber when we met for the day’s excursion. We asked Dr. Steele what we could do for the victim and she said a second person (my next-door neighbor) also had symptoms and was going to get tested as well. I had been wearing a mask pretty steadily but now everyone from USM was told to wear one. Apparently, the Gothic Studies group has several people sick as well (I feel there is some significance there but am not sure exactly what).

Day 10 – Oxford

Our group was very excited to visit Oxford, city of dreaming spires, and we were pleased that Dr. Davies, USM’s Head of British Studies, was joining us again. He led us to Marble Arch where we could catch the Oxford coach because it has a stop much closer to the center of town than the train. When we arrived, there was time to walk around before our first appointment.

Vaulted ceiling at the Bodleian

Day 9 – Rotherhithe and The London Library

The Rotherhithe Picture Research Library is part of an extraordinary operation located in a former granary in the Southwark neighborhood of London. Established in 1975 as a nonprofit, the Library is available to anyone wishing to do picture research (see website).

Costume hats

Day 8 – The Royal Geographic Society Library and Archives

We returned to the South Kensington part of London on Monday to visit the Royal Geographic Society Library and Archive (see website). Its headquarters are in a listed building, which means it is of special architectural or historic interest considered to be of national importance and thus worth protecting.

Stanley's and Livingstone's hats

Day 7 – Sunday including Mudlarking

There is a beautiful Catholic church right in Marylebone where I am staying, St. James's, Spanish Place, which has an interesting history. After the restoration of Charles II, the Spanish Embassy was re-established in London, eventually living in Hertford House, now the home of the Wallace Collection. A chapel was built on the corner of Spanish Place for embassy use. While the local archdiocese took over the chapel in 1827 and the current church was built in 1890, there is still an unofficial relationship with the Spanish Embassy.