Dorset Snowdrops

snowdrops at Kingston Lacey

I love snowdrops. Just when January seems endless and grey, the snowdrop appear — a magical all day frost. These were taken during an afternoon *ahem* skipping work when Mr S and I went walking at Kingston Lacey. Kingston Lacey is a fabulous country house in North Dorset, a seventeenth century stately home, more palace than manor. I’ve always loved it – especially after I read Viola Banks memoirs of growing up in the house in the ’20s. I read it when I was nine or ten and stomped about the house when we came to visit, pretending I was Viola and wishing that all the pesky tourists would leave me in peace.

In the last few years they’ve been doing lots of work to the gardens – which even in the depths of winter are rather spectacular.

This is the Kingston Lacey version of a summerhouse — the summerhouse itself is quite similare to ours, only the stately mansion behind is a little grander than our cottage/ hovel.

And then walking in the woods on the way to tea (if only every walk had macaroons and cheese scones at the end) Mr S spied this door into a tree and what we can only presume to be a Hobbit Hole.

‘The House at Tyneford’ is a bestseller!

Thanks so much to all the wonderful people at Plume (especially to Tara and Pam)! ‘The House at Tyneford’ has just debuted at no 29 on the NYT bestseller list. I’m so, so excited. It’s also at no 14 on the Indiebound list and at no 8 in the Boston Globe besteller list. It’s bedtime but I’m far too excited to sleep.

Here is a photo of a windswept Dorset seascape near Tyneham… no wonder I was inspired to write a novel set here.

Burt's Tyneford cottage

 

And here is a picture of the real-life Landau girls, taken in Berlin in the 1920s.

Gerda, Gabi, Margot

My grandmother Margot is the eldest.

The House at Tyneford

The US version of ‘The Novel in the Viola’ is now published by Plume and is currently at no 17 on the Indiebound bestseller chart! Hurray. I love, love this cover.