my guest today - Elizabeth
St. John
“All the time she dwelt in the Tower, if any were sick she made (the prisoners) broths and restoratives with her own hands, visited and took care of them, and provided them all necessaries; if any were afflicted she comforted them, so that they felt not the inconvenience of a prison who were in that place.”
Memoirs of the Life of Colonel Hutchinson
Lucy Hutchinson, 1620-1681
(Recounting the life of her mother, Lucy St.John)
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| The Queen’s House from the River Thames, with the White Tower in the background. |
Lucy St.John lived in
the Tower of London for thirteen years from 1617 to 1630; not as a prisoner,
but as Mistress of the Tower. I stumbled
upon the quoted biographical fragment from Lucy Hutchinson’s notebook in
Nottingham Castle, and I knew I must find out more about her mother. The Memoirs
give tantalizing glimpses of Lucy St.John’s life, and further research on the
position of Lieutenant of the Tower, Lucy’s husband, Sir Allen Apsley, revealed
much more.
When
I decided that Lucy would be the subject of my novel, The Lady of the Tower, I contacted
Her Majesty’s Royal Palaces (HRP) and asked if I could possibly visit some of
the private locations within the Tower. The Queen’s House is the family home of
the Governor, just as it was for Lucy when she moved there in 1617. They
readily gave their permission and kindly offered a Yeoman Warder as a guide.
I
was excited to arrive early one winter’s morning, before the crowds, and walk
along the old quay by Traitor’s Gate. Peeking over the massive stone walls were
the gabled roofs of Lucy’s home – a curious juxtaposition of domesticity and
fortress. I used that view and sensation to set the opening scene of my novel,
for I could only imagine Lucy’s trepidation upon entering the Tower, and seeing
her future home.
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| The Queen’s House, Tower of London |
As I met my Beefeater,
we quickly found a common love of history, and together we entered the Queen’s
House. What I didn’t anticipate was the
visceral reaction of walking through Lucy’s rooms, standing in her kitchen,
looking through her parlor window – just as she had done. The emotional
response to treading in her footsteps inspired so much of my work within The
Lady of the Tower, and so many small details found their way into my writing.
The
house was used for administrative offices too, and as I explored the warren of
rooms (the plans to which, alas, are missing), I came across a small corridor.
Just a few feet from Lucy’s front hall, great blocks of stone took over from
the domesticity of plaster, and in another pace or two, I was standing within
the twelfth century Bell Tower. The ambiance was mournful, and it was not at
all difficult to think of Thomas More, John Fisher, and the young Princess
Elizabeth imprisoned in this bleak chamber. Their view from the narrow slit
windows was the same as Lucy’s from her parlor – the execution block.
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My
inspiration from the Tower continued as I walked outside. Lucy was a great
herbalist, and her medicinals no doubt eased the lives of many of the prisoners
she nursed. In another part of the memoirs, her daughter refers to Lucy’s
generosity with her hen-house – she allowed Sir Walter Raleigh to make free use
of it to conduct his alchemy experiments when he was under her care and lodging
in the Bloody Tower. Needless to say, this took me in another whole research
direction.
The
Victorians built over Lucy’s garden, but it is still easy to see the old levels
of where her gardens were, and how she would access them from her home. She
grew up in country houses where it would have been her responsibility to learn
simple herbal cures and recipes, and I had a wonderful time researching recipes
and including those within my novel. I was even more fortunate that another
family member, her great-niece Johanna, collated a vast collection of remedies
in a book that is now in the Wellcome Library in London. I liberally borrowed
from those recipes to give examples within The Lady of the Tower.
Raleigh,
of course, was also a great gardener. I couldn’t resist some interactions
between him and Lucy involving some “Virginia Potatoes” as they were known.
That is the joy of writing historical fiction – we can have these flights of
fancy, as long as they are based in a foundation of solid research.
Lucy’s
husband is buried within the chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, and as I explored
the chapel, and saw the stone commemorating Anne Boleyn’s burial, so many
emotions flooded my thoughts. Although the Tower is a world tourist attraction,
and millions of people walk through its environs every year, I feel such a
personal connection, knowing that my family lived and worked within its walls. A
small votive to Sir Thomas Moore is still kept burning in the Yeoman’s private
chapel, and that was an important detail for me to include in my book.
In
Lucy’s time, the Liberty of the Tower housed over a thousand families, all of
which came under her husband’s jurisdiction. It really was its own small city,
for it lay outside of the laws of the City of London (which caused some
friction on many occasions). I like to think of Lucy ministering to the
residents as well as the prisoners, walking not just only in the areas where
her aristocratic prisoners were lodged, but among the houses and gardens of the
residents who all helped this important institution run smoothly.
The
Tower of London played a crucial role in inspiring my first novel, which has
become a best-seller in both the US and the UK. One of the most exciting
achievements was the day Her Majesty’s Royal Palaces asked if they could stock
The Lady of the Tower in the Tower’s gift shop, and we are now on the third
re-order. In her own special way, Lucy has returned to the Tower.
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| Buy on Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon CA |
Find Elizabeth on Facebook or her Website
Elizabeth will be giving an Author Talk at the
Swindon Festival of Literature at Lydiard
on 4th May 2017 at 7:30 pm.
Elizabeth will be giving an Author Talk at the
Swindon Festival of Literature at Lydiard
on 4th May 2017 at 7:30 pm.
Elizabeth St.John was brought up in England and lives in California. She has tracked down family papers and residences from Nottingham Castle, Lydiard Park, to Castle Fonmon and The Tower of London to inspire her writing. Although her ancestors sold a few mansions and country homes along the way (it's hard to keep a good castle going these days), Elizabeth’s family still occupy them - in the form of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their imprint.
The Lady of the Tower, Elizabeth’s first novel, a Discovered Diamond and a B.R.A.G. Medallion winner, is on sale on Amazon, and at the Tower of London. She is currently finishing up a sequel, which takes her family into opposing sides in the English Civil War
Read the Discovering Diamonds Review here
This is such an interesting post. How fabulous to have your own special guided tour.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this post yesterday, I knew what my next read would be. I started it last night. Thanks for this, Elizabeth and Helen!
ReplyDeleteThank you ladies - I also loved the book!
ReplyDeleteThank you Loretta and Elaine! The Tower has so many hidden stories.
ReplyDeleteI have just finished reading Your Book Lady if the tower,it was very absorbing and carried me back to the times of my ancestors and wanting to find out more, then I came across this. As a child a visited the tower of London but back then didn't know of my connections.
ReplyDeleteNichola, if you would like to send me an email to author@helenhollick.net I will forward it to Elizabeth
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