Carys is a Welsh word for love while the Beaumond, or Beaumont, family were medieval lords. Carys is a young widow with an interest in books. As the story starts, she is translating early medieval manuscripts. She is also concerned about her friend, the extremely rich Grace Petrie, who is suspected of poisoning her husband. And so she hires the dashing Daniel Morgan, a lawyer, to save Grace. Picture, a coat of arms associated with the Beaumonds.
Visual clues from photographs and paintings play a big part in my writing. I discovered this picture while researching Saving Grace. The picture is Young Girl Before a Lit Lamp, 1887 by Anna Ancher. Anna Ancher (1859 – 1935) was one of Denmark’s greatest visual artists. She specialized in interiors and simple themes from the everyday lives of the Danish people. This picture conjures up images of my character, Carys Beaumond.
Saving Grace is set in 1876, which means Carys Beaumond would have worn a dress similar to those on the bottom left of this picture.
And under every Victorian dress you would find a corset.
Hannah Howe 