a treasure box of inspiration

It's madness to even be thinking about the next book when we're a bit lost and stuck in the first one, but I came across this amazing lot that was sold in May 2021 at Sotheby's. It's a little drawered-box containing an amazing array of occult and witchcraft objects. If only it could talk!!  

What is it about Mrs. Pollifax?

I'm binge reading the Mrs. Pollifax novels again, as I find myself in need of comfort. And it's got me thinking. What is it that's so comforting about them? Something in their construction? Can I dig into it for my own writing on the novel. I think first of all, you fall a little in love with Mrs. Pollifax. She's non-judgmental, self-reflected, strong-minded, no nonsense, a bit quirky with her wild hats, and ultimately utterly likable. She's very open and curious to everyone she meets. She doesn't waste time, she gets straight to business, even when it seems like she's off on a tangent - speaking to some budding it-girl model on a plane - it's actually all about business. She's RELATABLE. I definitely want to be her, down to pondering whether I should sign up for karate lessons.

As far as the progression of the novels themselves, I find them different than Agatha Christie, whose work they are compared to. Agatha Christie is so self-consciously holier than thou - you could never figure out who did it because you're clearly too stupid. Sherlock Holmes is like this too. Here, she's often the one who is underestimated by her peers, not the one with a slightly thick sidekick.

Everything that happens in these novels moves the plot forward and while you might not see it coming, how she's going to get through it - breaking in to the main prison in Sofia, Bulgaria was just pure guts - you are along for the ride, rather than having vital clues hidden from you to be revealed by a pompous little Belgian in the final chapter.

I love how Bishop becomes more and more of a Q figure as the novels progress - providing her with the clandestine kit she may need to affect the mission. Though her kit is more along the lines of special hats that hold passports and cameras built into an elaborate brooch, than guns and fancy cars. Again, she's just so RELATABLE.

The books are also easy-reads. I'm reading basically one a day and I'm not spending all day doing it, I'm just reading for a couple of hours at bedtime and then maybe a little late afternoon to unwind. But what is it that makes them easy? That forward motion of the plot? It's not like it's super simplistic language and there's clearly a lot of research about locations and their history woven into the plots, so they're not just throw-away broad brush strokes.

As I was reading the first one, which ends up in Albania, I found myself thinking that there was no way Dorothy Gilman could have written it without having been to Albania. It has a legit Balkan feel, as does the one set in Turkey and the one in Bulgaria. She had to have visited the Balkans and in the 60s and 70s, when she was writing these, that wouldn't necessarily have been an easy feat. If she didn't, I'd love to know how she did it.

One of the mechanisms she uses is that Emily Pollifax has to figure out who someone is. Sometimes it's someone who is working with her and sometimes it's someone who is working against her. But that said, I don't find them necessarily formulaic, other than maybe that they feel a bit cinematic. I'm surprised that only a couple of them were made into films or made-for-tv movies. Angela Lansbury played Emily Pollifax, which I'm not sure is the best casting, but perhaps it was for that era. Hmm, who do I think should play her? I don't know how Geena Davis looks these days, but maybe someone like her? If Meg Ryan hadn't ruined her face with too much plastic surgery, I might think she would be good, but I'm afraid she has. There has to be a quirky streak and I don't think Angela Lansbury really had that. Though I haven't seen the film. I should see if it's on YouTube.

Ok, today's musings aren't really on the topic of Finding Lumke, but yet, they kind of are. Because thinking about what makes a good, compelling story that you really want to read is important work. So, to sum up what I think it is, it's a likable, relatable main character, it's a plot that moves forward all the time, and it's letting the reader in on things and not making them feel stupid, while also keeping that fine balance of keeping them guessing and moving along with you. Of course, our novel isn't a mystery or a spy story, but surely the same elements matter.

a visit to the Maritime Museum in Barcelona

We visited the Maritime Museum today in Barcelona. They have a great deal of emphasis on the Catalan contributions to seafaring (even downplaying Columbus and the whole “sailed the ocean blue in 1492) and it largely started in the 1500s, which seems kind of late. They have an amazing replica of a galley (do they mean galleon?), which was quite a flat ship, with countless oarmen (read: slaves), sails that encompassed 700 square meters of fabric and a fancy housing on the stern, where the illegitimate son of the King hung out during the battles, with fine herringbone floors and elaborate paintings on the sides. It had a weird Oriental feel (I realize we shouldn’t use Oriental anymore as a word, but honestly, it was that).

I quite liked some of the decoration on it – like cranes painted on the side and in relief, to signify a metaphor for the Captain, who must be alert night and day. There was also a painting of Diana, which also symbolized the Captain, who is full of understanding and reason and the dog accompanying her, that symbolizes the senses and obedience, of the crew, naturally. These are definitely elements I can use in the story.

On the back of the galley there was a golden Medusa head, which was believed to have magical powers and strike terror into anyone who saw it. On the front, was the most amazing Neptune figurehead, symbolizing dominion over the sea. These are definitely ideas I can use.

Other ideas from the museum, were various maps and books kept by captains and aspiring sailors, featuring sketches of landscapes, maps, and bits of gear on board, including some that remind me of some of the things I’ve done for the Inspired by Place eCourse. I wished there was more of that sort of thing and that they had some posters or at least postcards of the maps for sale, but alas, they did not.

The museum itself was a lovely building that was almost Danish in its skillful combination of new and old. In the last bit, which was aimed at children, there were some cool animated illustrations of various legends of the sea – mermaids, Leviathan, the Kraken, and sea monsters. Much inspiration there and I even stood and took some videos to remind me. I’ll have to do research into the those – everything always leads to more reading. And some of it was Biblical, which keeps popping up as well.

 I had hoped for more inspiration in the ships themselves, but alas, they were very focused on Barcelona-built ships, which were very different from the Dutch ships in our story. They played up their conquest of the Americas and there was nothing about the routes around the Cape to India and Java. This undoubtedly makes sense, as the museum is in Barcelona, but it wasn’t really what I was looking for.

Other things I learned, which are useful: the sextant was used to calculate latitude and the chronometer to calculate longitude. The items they had on board to trade – cotton, tobacco, sugar, slaves, “undeclared goods” or contraband. There were some very cool chests that had been used to carry goods, which I can use in the story. No talk of spices or even coffee, though the cocoa beans were mentioned, in this museum, and those were undoubtedly major items for the VOC.

I’ve been thinking about the figurehead on "our" ship. Weirdly, when I got home to the apt., I tried to Google what the Berbices ship looked like and I got no results for that ship. I asked Lynne and Judith if they had seen it and Lynne immediately came back with results, searching on the same terms I did! I wonder if Spain didn’t want me to access VOC ships when they are trying to sell me on their maritime heritage. That would be kind of funny and what else explains it? Just the vagaries of the algorithm.

There’s always more research to do and more to read to improve my writing and the story. It’s all part of the process and I’m very much finally truly enjoying it as I go along.