I am very much charmed by English
country homes with the large barns, green hill sides with grazing sheep, rock
fences and nearby streams with the gently turning water wheels. These were the
homes of squires and modest barons. The Bennets had such a home in Pride and Prejudice.
They had great names, usually
prompted by a local natural feature or nearby historical monument: Broadoaks,
Moat Farm, Oak Farm, Lakeland, Manor Farm, Church Farm, Old Hall Farm. In Wicked
Siren (Wicked Affairs, 6), my country baron Alex Preston lived in Kent
at Oak Hoo:
“Prior to my
family owning the home, it was called Oak Hoo. Hoo being an old Saxon name for the
spur of a hill.”
“Oak Hill,
is it?”
“No. We never
changed the name. Most
everyone still calls the place Hoo.”
Naturally when I pictured Oak
Hoo, I pictured this.
And then there was Glen Arbor,
the home of Edward Chase, the Earl of Redding. This story was Wicked Lord
(Wicked Affairs, 3). While the home had all of the bucolic earmarks of a
country manor, this home was more stately with matching landscaped grounds.
Edward even tries to charm his new wife by telling her about the deer that
graze on the lawns.
Edward’s gaze followed hers, glancing at the
Palladian monument, a testimony to his great-grandfather’s grandiosity. Edward
did enjoy the breezy old mansion, but then he’d grown up here, running the
fields, swimming its lakes and riding everywhere else.
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from and inspired by the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). That which is recognized as Palladian
architecture today is an evolution of Palladio's original concepts. Palladio's
work was strongly based on the symmetry, perspective and values of the formal
classical temple architecture of the Ancient Greeks and Romans –
Wikipedia
This style was also popular
during the colonial period and through the Revolutionary War in America.
Palladian can still be considered a simple, boxy style home in contrast to the
showy Georgian architecture which would typically involved white paint, crescent
shapes and wrought iron balconies.
It is hard for some to think of
the Regency period outside of London ballrooms and the flurry of
the Season but
the country house parties, the poor relatives and the vicar’s daughter were
best featured in rural settings. I find a lot of comfort in the idea of
changing seasons, planting and plowing and the inevitable cycle of life and
death. Both the squire and the duke would maintain their herds, breed their
horse stock and “chill” in the country.
Nearly all of my story arcs end
up in the country: for healing, for peace, for family time. I find the English
countryside to be one of my favorite story settings.
Remember: First person to claim a book by its title, wins it!
