chesel beach now that was written only two years ago and it was written about the 1950s and I've been around touring with this book The mesmerist and if I read that part people come up to me and say my mother didn't tell me anything nothing about what would happen when I got married nothing so here we are in 1840 and
countries I've written about Egypt I've written about the Rosetta Stone when it was found so the mesmerist is my third um historical novel so I'm kind of getting the hang of it and I thought I'd talk to you a bit about research of of historical novels and I'm ever so glad to be talking to people in
those that's the kind of contradiction and terms but it's not it is so so thrilling and the mesmerist in particular the plot was changed because of my research I'd started out with one idea but once I started
couldn't get work and one of them had an aunt who was a mesmerist and it is true there was a misreston who was a mesmerist in Bloomsbury at the turn of the century around about 1800. I read that in a textbook so I thought Cordelia can be her niece so she knows a little bit about it her
149 authors scheme that's an author for every public workers the country and her recent book The mesmerist which I hope some of you have read is set in early Victorian an audience Westminster and Camden I suppose
what writing house Street used to be called will because they can't get any work set up they have this idea of setting up a free no mesmerist sort of setup phrenology you know is that Victorian thing where there was a a skull and this bit would show if you were amative and this bit would show if you were
peace which is when Cordelia because she because she has the gift that her aunt had Charles Dickens was a mesmerist it's not a thing that is just a few people have not at all it's if you understand energy and it's going from one person to another and have that kind of
1839 yes yes it is there I can have great titfield Street and when I was writing Rosetta uh no when I was writing the mesmerist I wanted My Heroine Cordelia Preston to live in Bloomsbury so I walked around Bloomsbury thinking I've got to find she hasn't got any
this is cordelia's idea love the most important decision trained mature lady freno mesmerist begs to announce knowledgeable advice given on Marriage Partners do not make a
me but I read an enormous enormous amount and this is based on what I read of what happens in hospitals Cordelia becomes very famous as a mesmerist not just as somebody who gives advice for the marriage night and this is her first visit to a hospital now remember there was no
a woman about her own age was to be operated on to remove her breast cancer somehow she'd heard of Cordelia and asked for this woman mesmerist to help her Cordelia shook her head in great distress I'm sorry I'm not experienced enough she said but the woman stared up
actresses they hadn't touched actresses since that book called the actresses but I'd have these two aging actresses who couldn't get work and one of them had an aunt who was a mesmerist and it is true there was a misreston who was a mesmerist in Bloomsbury at the turn of the century around about 1800. I read that in a
somehow she'd heard of Cordelia and asked for this woman mesmerist to help her two weeks I'm talking to all the libraries in Westminster about the mesmerist and I thought I think I better
I was told I could close this down so I will have to do anything else um two things I'd like to thank Westminster libraries for of course for choosing the mesmerist I mean what fun for me it is really good fun I'm going around all these libraries and talking about the book to book groups who've
somehow she'd heard of Cordelia and asked for this woman mesmerist to help her read it again so I was in New Zealand last week and so on the flight back I read the mesmerist and I'd even
somehow she'd heard of Cordelia and asked for this woman mesmerist to help her profession of mesmerism or something widespread or not it was not widespread for women the fact
somehow she'd heard of Cordelia and asked for this woman mesmerist to help her they were mesmerism they were Miracles so the church was against it the medical profession a lot of the medical
somehow she'd heard of Cordelia and asked for this woman mesmerist to help her chloroform were discovered mesmerism really faded away because that was a
somehow she'd heard of Cordelia and asked for this woman mesmerist to help her all the time is this respect for mesmerism which turns into hypnotism and