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What's a good story made of?
Lots of things. But one element every author of historical fiction knows is that often the place is just as important as the characters and their conflict.
Here in SCARLETT AFFAIRS, I take you to so many places that are real...or were. Each one has a special importance to the period...and the story I'm telling.
One of those places is St. Denis Basilica in north central Paris. It is on the periphery, almost to the Peripherique Wall, centuries old. Older is the church that was originally built there and is now this lovely building.
But its magnificence was not always revered. In fact, during the Revolution, the church was pillaged. Ransacked.
Why?
Inside this lovely church rest the kings and queens and families of the monarchs of France. From ancient to medieval, babies, children, siblings, kings to Louis XIV, and, yes, the remains of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, Louis XVIII and Charles X.
I post here only a few of the marvelous statuary in this church. I urge you to go and marvel at the collection. Do go down into the crypt to see the black granite coverings to the tombs of Louis and his wife Marie. Walk around to see the alcove where their son's heart is buried. Do find Louis XIV in one wall.
Why do I put this in LORD ASHLEY'S BEAUTIFUL ALIBI? The scene is very important in the novel as our heroine get north to St. Denis and attempts to make contact with her agent who feeds her news from the south of France. The aura of death and sadness pervades the scene.
The bath house near St. Denis to which she goes is typical of Paris at the time. For both men and women in separate rooms, the bathhouse was useful to those who wanted to bathe and had no means at home.
Here is a model of one. My picture from the Carnavalet Musee in Paris.
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| Built in 1787, this luxury public bathhouse remained fashionable under the Empire and the Restoration. Around 1830 however, its success declined in the face of competition. |
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