Portraits

 

'Beau' Lascelles by John Hopper 1797

When I’m writing, I like to have a mental image of my characters, and though I don’t go in for heavily detailed descriptions, I hope I write enough to give my readers a vague idea of what I’m thinking. Part of the inspiration for these is just drawn from the type of character I am portraying in words – so a strong, silent type of male is synonymous with tall, dark and handsome in my head. That still leaves a lot of wiggle room for variation on the theme.

Hew d'Arras, Earl of Blencathra

For example, both Hew d’Arras, Earl of Blencathra (Lady Serena’s Secret) and Lord Nathaniel Brockworth (Lord Nathaniel’s Nemesis) are the strong, silent types, but their appearances are quite different. Yes, they are both quite tall, but whereas Hew has jet black hair and green eyes, Nathaniel has chestnut brown curling hair and grey eyes – so quite distinctive from the appearance point of view, as well as in personality traits.

Lord Nathaniel Brockworth

But then there are the other sources of inspiration – the ones that stimulate not only physical descriptions but plot lines too. So about the time I was completing Lady Isabel’s Inheritance, we visited Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire – a wonderful medieval fortress turned stately home. I loved it, and it has become a favourite place of inspiration for my writing. One of the portraits that grabbed my attention, shortly after entering the castle, was an unusual picture dating from the seventeenth century of a lady called Teresa Sampsonia, Lady Shirley. She and her husband are wearing the Anglicised version of Persian costumes of the time. They are stunning portraits, but what caught my attention was the fact that Teresa was happily toting a flintlock pistol. Obviously this was a lady to take note of – and she really has quite an interesting story, travelling widely with her husband on diplomatic missions, but then retiring to a convent in Rome after his death!

Lord Shirley and Teresa Sampsonia in Persian costume.

But that one picture opened up quite a few story line possibilities, and also reassured me that Lady Isabel toting her own pistol around on a daily basis, wasn’t a ridiculous idea at all. More importantly it fed an idea that had been with me from the beginning of starting the Brockworth Chronicles – a subject for Lady Rosamund to obsess over in Lady Rosamund’s Recluse (Book Four, to be published in 2026). In this Lady Thomasina Brockworth nee Tregannon, a Tudor ancestor of the Brockworths, is believed to have been a lady privateer (an officially sanctioned sort of pirate), before her marriage, during the reign of Elizabeth I. A mysterious, swashbuckling, female ancestor whose story has to be some sort of adventure – how could the ever-inquisitive Rosamund resist such a challenge?

Lady Thomasina

The rather shocking lengths that Rosamund is prepared to go to, is, of course, one of the main themes of that particular story. She has, of course, the intrepid Lady Thomasina as her role model, so it’s not surprising that her plan is rather daring and potentially scandalous. I have to say that Rosamund, though rather the plain Jane (relatively speaking) of the Brockworth family, is one of my favourite characters. She’s clever, daring, and funny – she makes me smile.

And then there are those portraits that just stop you in your tracks when you see them, and you just know that they are going to inspire a plot line somewhere in one of your books. ‘Aurora’, Lady Harrington by Sir Joshua Reynolds 1775, was one such picture. I was wandering around Harewood House in Yorkshire (another must-visit house if you are within a hundred miles), when this beauty stunned me into awed silence. A large, impressive picture, the beauty of the subject and execution was excelled by the charisma of the lady herself.

Aurora, Lady Harrington by Sir Joshua Reynolds 1775

I wasn’t sure how such a lady would be woven into the plot of one of my novels, but I knew she would be. She will appear with slightly altered looks in book five, in which the ever mercurial Lord Felix finds himself on a quest to solve a rather sinister mystery, and bring justice to a young lady whose life might have been totally blighted by her ambitious and greedy relative. Sorry, no more spoilers – though the rough plot line is in my head, I have yet to start writing!

One of the alternative images generated in Ai
which is a key point in the plot of Lord Felix's Fate

And finally, thanks to Ai I can now get something close to the images that come purely out of my head. Though not as easy a process as some would have you think, with thought and tenacity, you can get somewhere close to the perfect portrait of your imagined heroes, villains and supporting cast. I may have been thrown out of the Art class aged fifteen or so, for conspicuous lack of talent, but I still can claim to have come top in Art when that particular term’s result was based on a project on ‘The History of Art’.

So, thank you Miss Noblett – you may have made my life miserable for a few terms, but you sowed the seeds of a lifetime interest in Art, and that has been an enduring source of joy!

Copyright © 2026 Detta Adams

Dean's Court

 

Dean's Court is a lovely Georgian styled house situated in the south west of England, which has been occupied by the Hanham family for about 500 years. The current owners are Sir William and Lady Ali Hanham. It is set in the quintessentially english market town of Wimborne, Dorset.

Dean's Court - North façade

The earliest building recorded on this site housed both monks and nuns, and dated from 705 AD. Since then it has had a lively history including being razed to the ground in 1015 by Danish Viking marauders. The house has changed in architectural character over the last near thousand years reflecting the architectural tastes of the time. During that period it has been closely linked with Wimborne Minster which is situated virtually next door. Fortunately, for whatever reason, the Hanhams have not made any major architectural changes since Georgian times, so we are now left to enjoy this lovely gem typical of that period, though the fly-over video on the Dean's Court website suggests that the buidlings behind the front range date from an earlier period - probably the Tudor/Jacobean period.

Wimborne Minster

My interest lay mainly in the fact that this is a house where the ownership has survived in the same family for a very long period; from the Tudor Period to the present day. The Hanham family are typical of many of the remaining Aristocratic families in that they have successfully adapted to changing times. Their history includes strategic marriages, surviving the perils of religious affiliation during Tudor times, the Civil War, the supervision of Napoleonic prisoners of war, and a major societal Scandal in the nineteenth century - to name but a few of the more common situations in which many families of this ilk found themselves.

Dean's Court East face.

I imagine that my literary creation, Norcombe Abbey New Hall, one of the main houses featured in the Brockworth Chronicles, to be a rather larger version of Dean's Court, and would have been built in honey-coloured Cotswold Stone rather than red brick! But the general look of the building and architectural nuances would be the same, just scaled up quite a lot. 

The above picture inspired my ideas as to how the New Hall might look (minus the topiary), from across the valley, viewing from Norcombe Abbey Old Hall . It would be sort of view that Lady Isabel might gaze out upon when she was playing her piano (see Lady Isabel's Inheritance on Amazon).

Places like Dean's Court and Wimborne Minster are 21st Century survivors that, thanks to the tenacity of generations of families and caretakers, still allow us to glimpse into the lives of those whose stories provide the bedrock of the history of England.

Dean's Court is open to visitors on a limited basis, and is a popular venue for weddings and other large entertainments. You can visit their website here

Inspiration and Research

When reading ‘Writing Coach Books’, I am surprised how much time they spend on the subject of ‘Writer's Block’. Maybe it’s because I have been around quite a bit (no, I’m not telling you my age!) that I seem to have an endless resource in my head, so if one plot line seems to be coming to a dead end, it doesn’t take long for the brain cells to come up with a new scenario to pursue. 

Inside the Orangery at Sezincote - the Inspiration for Colonel Fawcett's Orchid House in Lady Serena's Secret (currently being written - hopefully to be published in the New Year).

Having worked with the Great British Public as an Optometrist, it is surprising the amount of drama that even ordinary folk encounter (don’t worry, all your stories are safe with me - I would never use them directly). And the drama increases in variety and shock-value the higher the social status or wealth of the people involved! So, the fact that during the Regency/ late Georgian period, the Upper Classes were always getting up to a myriad of scrapes and downright wickedness, is not quite as surprising as one might suppose. The fact that there wasn’t any social media beyond the newspapers and scandal sheets, or an organised police force for much of the period, may have had something to do with it!

However, despite having quite a mine of tales of human frailty to pick and work, I do find it both interesting and fruitful to feed that memory bank on a regular basis. That is my excuse, anyway, for noseying around as many interesting historical places as I can, when I am taking a few days away from home.

Kelmscott Manor. Country home of William Morris. Though it has not been a direct inspiration for a scene in my books yet, it is an archetypel Cotswold Manor House, and probably has the most romantic feel of any I have visited.

So Bath is next on my list. I’ve been there before, of course, but as we are in the area in the lead up to Christmas (visiting daughter and family with Christmas presents), it seems too good an opportunity to miss, to renew my acquaintance and get the feel of the place once again. The downside of visiting at this time of year is that a few places are closed, notably, the Assembly Rooms.

Bath will probably feature to some extent in Book 4 of the Brockworth Chronicles, “Lady Rosamund’s Recluse.’ As we already know from Book 1 ‘Lady Isabel’s Inheritance’, Lady Rosamund is currently attending a rather progressive school near Bath, and so it is a good spot for her to have already established connections in the area. It also gives me an opportunity to use a new plot setting to explore, and as this is to be in the nature of a Gothic Romance, the craggy coastline of Devon, not too far away, should prove to be a suitable backdrop. The Castle involved will be suitably gloomy and forbidding, of course. I have already modelled part of it on Berkeley Castle, which we visited quite recently.

Berkely Castle - a suitably rambling and ancient castle for setting a Gothic Romance. My inspiration for the castle to feature in Book Four of the Brockworth Chronicles. Actually, it's rather a beautiful place in an austere kind of way. Well worth a visit!

Though many of my trips are planned as semi-research trips, I’m afraid I’m a bit of magpie, so if something shiny catches my eye (i.e. it looks interesting), then I shall go there, take as many photos and notes as I can, and salt the memories away for possible future mining forays.

Then there is what I like to call serious research, which usually involves reading rather dry tomes, to get my facts straight. Why do I bother, you may ask? Not many people would be bothered to look up facts, but then I have an inkling that there are quite a few pedantic readers like me, out there, who are incandescent when they read something totally wrong that an author has failed to fact-check. (That also applies to modern or foreign, mainly American, phraseology creeping into the mouths of Georgian English Aristocrats. Gotten is my number one pet hate!)

 

William Dalrymple's excellent book about the East India Company.

So, I spend a good deal of my time reading up on subjects such as the East India Company. Reading ‘The Black Sheep’ by Georgette Heyer many years ago, inspired me to wonder how many men of middling background, went out to India and made eye-watering fortunes which, if they survived, they brought back to England to set up as Landed Gentry, and frequently entered politics. So, currently, I’m reading The Anarchy, by William Dalrymple (one of the most forefront experts on the subject, and thankfully, very easy to read), to provide background for the book I’m currently writing, ‘Lady Serena’s Secret’. Though none of the characters or plot lines are taken from such sources, they provide, hopefully, a realistic and historically accurate backdrop to the events happening to the lead characters. It makes them more believable, I hope, and more rounded sympathetic characters.

So, what am I saying, really? Well, I suppose it’s that writing for me, isn’t simply just dreaming up a racy storyline and committing it to electronic pen and paper. It's more about really getting into the characters' heads and situations, and the things they have experienced and hopefully relating how those influence the how, who, why, where and when they fall in love.

And though I appreciate that most Aristocratic marriages of the Regency Period were probably decided on purely mercenary lines, nobody really wants to hear about those. (Except, maybe, if against the odds, it does turn out to be a love story. Maybe, a story line for later?) So, in the pursuit of entrancing (I hope), true love stories, I will continue to seek out the unusual, and quirky, and sometimes downright bizarre - hopefully to entertain my readers!

Detta.

Lady Isabel's Inheritance

 Well, I've finally done it! I've completed and published my first Historical Romance on Amazon! It's been in preparation for over a year, and I've finally given up tweeking it, and backed myself (for once), and committed it to electronic print.

I have always been a fan of Georgette Heyer's novels, and I suppose this is my take on the genre. Think of the Sanditon or Bridgerton style of story and you get the idea. You can find it here. 

Here is the online intro:  

Lady Isabel, newly widowed, has beauty, status, property, money and most importantly, her independence. Why would she need a new husband, especially when her past experiences of men have been so dismal?
Theo Brockworth, 3rd Marquess of Norcombe, is similarly suspicious of all females of marriageable age, for different reasons. Having been relentlessly pursued by scheming debutantes and their Mamas for his title and fortune, he is understandably cautious when it comes to the female of the species. However, he is in a quandary. He needs to marry, but has never found a woman that he could envisage being shackled to for the rest of his life, nor whose motives are above suspicion.
And then they meet on a stormy winter's night, when Isabel's coachman has arrived at The Marquess's house by mistake. Sparks fly as attraction sizzles between them, but after Isabel states that she has categorically sworn off men, Theo tries to stifle his attraction to his gorgeous new neighbour. Circumstances draw them inexorably together, though Isabel still clings to the idea that no man is trustworthy, despite Theo's help and kindness in overcoming her problems in getting to grips with her new estate. Will Theo be able to avoid the local heiress who has fixed designs on him? Will dangers from Isabel's past wreck the budding love story? Enjoy the fast moving relationship between the lovely Theo and the feisty Lady Isabel, as their family, friends, neighbours and enemies watch on with sometimes more than benign interest.
Meet the Brockworth's and their friends and neighbours in the village of Norcombe Abbey, set in the lovely rolling countryside of the Cotswolds.

After a summer of visiting stately homes around the country, I am newly armed with fresh inspiration and have embarked on book two in the series: Lady Serena's Secret. Currently there are six books planned for the series, with a few novellas thrown in for good measure.

Talking of Inspiration, I fell in love with Sezincote, which is a rather unusual Georgian Mansion in the north east of the Cotswolds. It has inspired a very small portion of 'Lady Serena's Secret', and so will be the subject of my next post. That's enough of a spoiler for now, but I will give you a photo to whet your appetite.

Sezincote House from the Cedar Grove

If you have read Lady Isabel's Inheritance then you may wish to see from where one my inspirations for Norcombe Abbey Old Hall came. The exterior was inpired by Asthall Manor, Oxfordshire. For me, as I saw it for the first time, it epitomised the graciousness of that earlier period. I know nothing of the interior, as one was not permitted to view indoors. A pity - I would love to have had a nosey round.

Asthall Manor, from across the valley on a rather gloomy February morning.

Despite the fact that this post is called Detta's Diary, I find it hard work to post every day, or even every month! Self publishing is far more involved than I ever imagined - I'm having to learn to market myself - not a natural thing for someone who is fairly reclusive by nature! But needs must! So I'm going to try to post every Wednesday from now on. If you would like to subscribe, please just fill in the box.

Keep well and happy! Detta

 

Inspiration : Ravenna

 Inspiration for designs in embroidery can come from all sorts of places: Books, museums, mosaics, old Christmas cards, nature, fabrics seen in foreign places, and my favourites - old buildings (to name but a few). In the old days (pre-internet), we didn't have an endless global resource literally at our fingertips. We went places and looked at old buildings, and sometimes we were inspired and took a photo of what we saw. (Which is why my garage has numerous heavy boxes filled with old photos and slides).

Of course, Sunday Church was routine for nearly all, and church decoration helped to keep children occupied whilst their parents went about their devotions. So it's not surprising that Churches still remain one of my favourite places to nosy round. Italy is, of course, filled with artistic treasures of all kinds: music, sculpture, buildings, painting, fashion, wine and food. Even most of the scenery almost seems to have been deliberately formed by some bucolic maestro! So, when a lifelong ambition to visit Ravenna was finally achieved in 2019, my only disappointment was that we only had a day visit. If I ever get to go again, I'll go for longer - a lot longer. So what is the attraction of Ravenna in particular? Some of the finest church mosaics anywhere are all collected together in one small town.

As we all are taught at school, mosaics are made up of tesserae - small pieces of square glass or stone. The details depends on the size of the work and the size of the stones. Smaller stones on a big work make for a very detailed image. You can tell the size of the tesserae by looking at the little flashes of gold in the bottom panel of the picture below - each flash represents one tiny piece of gold-backed glass. The detail on the two deer and the figures in the arch indicate the high number of tesserae used. And did those Byzantine folk know how to work their Art! 

And then there is Pattern, as evidenced on the photo below. First there is the gold and indigo vine scroll pattern on the outside of the arch. Then there is the complicated multicoloured Greek key work just inside the arch - FAB-U-LOUS! I still have to fathom out how it works. I wish I could have got closer to take more detailed pictures. And the Circles - Yes they are just circles of various patterns, but they are so effective. (It may all look very simple to you natural artists out there, but to one such as myself who was told not to bother with Art at the age of 15, it's the work of genius!) Even the simple feather-work at the bottom works brilliantly. Refined and effective.

And of course, I have left the ultimate demonstration of this art form - the figurative pieces till last. It is difficult to know where to start. Each face is subtly  different. The clothes do drape, the birds do chase each other. The colours blend harmoniously, the Angel's wings really do have feathers. I could go on, but it's of more use, if you just simply look and observe.

So where does all that lead to embroidery you may ask? Well, for those who have little to no artistic talent like me, we can copy, or we can take small bits and modify them to our own needs, or we can use the ideas as reference points to return to constantly as sources of inspiration and as examples of excellence to which we can strive (though in my case, probably never come close to achieving). 

In cross stitch we take tiny stitches to make up pictures, just as tiny bits of stone or glass make up mosaics. The principle is the same, The detail that we achieve in our cross-stitching depends on how small we are prepared to work our stitches, and the size of the canvas with which we choose to work.

Though few of us will ever come close to such artistry, we should at least try to do our own small personal best. 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!