Wednesday, September 2, 2009

ian's castle

This post is especially for my bloggy friend, Mary, over at her winsome http://bellwhistlemoon.blogspot.com. Recently some folks asked me if I really lived in an English castle as they'd read in an online interview. These pictures of Harlaxton Manor/Grantham Castle, or Ian's castle, as I think of it, don't do it justice. The place is even bigger and more magnificent than it looks. I spent my junior year in college living here while I studied the Revolutionary War from the British perspective. And believe me, the British have a vastly different view of George Washington and all those Patriots than we do:) I also studied Shakespeare and 18th-century literature. It was the most amazing experience of my life!

Here is the castle at twilight taken from the gardens. The setting sun turns all those turrets and the clock tower a shimmering gold and it almost hurts your eyes to look at it. To get here you drive down "the long mile," past huge gate houses and a side garden and an immense mews (stables) before coming to the very intimidating front door. All it lacks is a moat:)

Here's the castle in a slightly more Gothic mood. I did think of this amazing place in detail when creating Ian and his crumbling Scottish abode, though I think if Castle Roslyn was truly this magnificent, he'd never have left for Kentucky! Do you think Lael would have liked it? Or would she have found it too formal and stuffy? As for me, I loved every minute and cried when I left.

16 comments:

  1. How amazing! It must have felt like living inside a fairytale. I would have cried when I left, too!

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  2. Wow! What a thrill it must have been to live in such a place. I'm sure you have wonderful memories.

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  3. Carla,
    You are right - it was like living a fairytale, even though my room was in the servant's quarters! I had the run of the whole place and spent a lot of time poking around:) I'd so love to go back. Thanks so much for your comments here!

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  4. Keli,
    Yes, my memories are intact even though it was years ago. When I look back at that time and all the studying about the 18th-century I did, I see such a thread leading to my writing today. God had a plan even when I didn't have a clue! How wonderful that He does that with each of us.

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  5. Oh, Laura, thank you so much for sharing these pictures with us! I love castles, though I have never visited one (unless you count "America's Castle" The Biltmore House in Asheville, NC---somehow I don't think it's the same!)

    I agree with Carla---"Fairy tale" is the only way I can describe it!

    I would love to find out how Lael would do in such palatial surroundings. But I have the feeling you have a similar setting in mind for another character in a future book. I can't wait to find out!

    Thanks for the pics! Those are definitely frame-worthy---do you have a big one on your wall?

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  6. Hi Mary,
    So glad you like the castle pics. And since you've seen Biltmore you are way ahead of me!! My mom and granny visited a few years ago and were just amazed. It's on my list of definite to-do's!
    And yes, I do have a watercolor of the castle on my office wall and it's just as lovely as the real thing:)

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  7. Lael would have been uncomfortable in it. She loved Kentucky way too much. Its whyy I wanted him to *just* be a doctor. You wrote her sooo loyal to Kentucky, and to have her leaving at the end seemed so contrary somehow. (this is Tonia)

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  8. You hit the nail on the head here, Tonia:) And that is why there can be no sequel!

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  9. As impressive is it is, it still seems to pale in comparison to your pic of the fall colors in your Aug. 26 post!

    And I agree, while Lael would have made the trip with Ian, it would be only for a visit as the call of the wild woods of Kentucke would be too great on them both!

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  10. Chris,
    You are still a Kentucky boy at heart. Not even Spain will change that:) And I agree - those KY colors are hard to beat anywhere.

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  11. Pure enchantment! Thank you so much for these lovely pictures. Just like a fairy tale!

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  12. Enchantment is just the right word! I still feel it years later:)

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  13. The castle looks so impressive and lovely. The memories must be great and it certainly will give you lots of vivid pictures to recall and write about and use in your books. :O)

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  14. Diane,
    I love your blog! Even my husband and kids liked the music:) Yes, my castle experience provided plenty of writing fodder for me. God is so good to equip us prior to calling us to do something. I have one castle story in the drawer and maybe will take it out and dust it off one day:) Or write another! Thanks so much for stopping by. Please come again!

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  15. it's funny... that's not how i imagined ian's castle. but i guess that's what is so great about reading. the imagination can really expand and create new places!

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  16. Hi Lisa,
    Yes, this is a very grand version of Ian's castle, to be sure:) I bet each of us had a very different idea, thanks to our imaginations!

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