Romance
over Realism by Jane Fenwick @jane_fenwick60 #neverthetwain
#historicalcrimenovels #romance #victorianwhitby
We read
for different reasons. From time to time we all need a little escapism when
reading but when writing historical crime a little realism can set the scene
nicely. In Never the Twain April and
May are forced into a situation that might seem strange to our modern eyes. Their
mother dies leaving them without means of support and this leaves them at the
mercy of their ‘Aunt’ Elizabeth, a self serving actress. (the theatrical masks
on the cover are a nod to her) Here in the 21st century we have a
social care system that although not perfect, does provide people with a safety
net if things go wrong. No such cushion was available in the 1890’s and so
April and May are set on a path of ruin.
There
would have been very few employment options open to young girls in a harbour
town such as Whitby. Those that were available would have been poorly paid and
without benefits such as maternity cover, sick pay or pensions. Often work was
seasonal such as herring fishing. April, the more reticent of the twins, is all
for trying alternatives to entering Mrs Jensen’s brothel but May sees the
dangers of two young women trying to go it alone. Women in the 19th century had
few rights and without the protection of a man, be it father, husband or brother,
they would be easy prey to the crooks. If they failed to earn enough as shop
workers to keep a roof over their heads they would inevitably enter the poverty
trap and that was to be avoided at all costs.
In
Victorian times poverty meant fending off diseases and malnutrition, continuous
hunger and poor living conditions. It also meant not having a voice, a vote or
legal protection. April and May were educated but would have found it hard to
secure work, especially work that kept them in comfort. Gutting fish or sewing
sails would have been beneath them and would have barely paid them enough to
keep body and soul alive. Young women in Victorian Whitby would have worked in
some capacity or other since childhood and at around the age of twelve they
would be expected to add the family’s coffers as adults.
May
sees a slippery slide into poverty with only the workhouse to fall back on. She
fears living hand to mouth in a hovel; May was right to worry about what their
living conditions might be like. In all possibility they would be sharing their
space with mice, lice, fleas and bedbugs. Living conditions in Whitby would
have been poor but at least their water supply was better than in most places
as Whitby was served by several fresh water springs; hence the growth of
tourism with people visiting to take the spa waters. Nevertheless their circumstances
would have been lowered. May’s idea to enter the brothel temporarily seemed the
better option to her and eventually she convinces her sister.
In the
19th century uneducated women had few employment options to choose
from. In Whitby most women would have been involved in the fishing industry in
one way or another. Gutting fish was back breaking, cold work and poorly paid.
Sewing sails or rope making was marginally better as it was usually done
indoors but both occupations were hard on the fingers and as equal pay was
light years ahead they would be paid less than the men they laboured alongside.
Women
without a male bread winner struggled to survive, especially if they had
children to support. The prospect of being widowed early was an expected part
of being married to a fisherman yet there were no state benefits to fall back
on if the worst happened and a husband was lost at sea. Without a man’s wage
for support his wife and family would often find life hard; even respectable
women sometimes resorted to prostitution to put food in their children’s
mouths. May convinced April that this life of deprivation was what awaited them
if they tried to find work for themselves.
Until
their mother’s death the twins had lived relatively easy lives at a coaching
inn. Elizabeth saw they had been spoiled and were not fit for the workplace.
Her solution was a harsh one but perhaps she was a realist and saw that two
beautiful young girls would be easy prey to the unscrupulous. At best they
would have had to sell what few possessions they had and most likely would have
taken to gin to numb the reality of their terrible lives, lives that would have
been considerably shortened if they couldn’t earn enough money to live
independently. Women living alone at this time were frowned upon. This alone
was enough to condemn them. They would be viewed with suspicion so they were damned
before they started!
After
their escape from the brothel both girls were relieved yet April still fears
for their future. She sees Edward as someone who can provide them with the
means to secure respectable work as governesses or companions. She sees she is
still a slave but of a different sort. May has more romantic ideals. Making a
good marriage was important for the middle and upper classes at this time and
May rightly sees that they can move into a higher society if one of them
marries well. Marriage of course did not give women more rights, in fact it
possibly gave them less as they were passed on as ‘chattel’ from their father’s
care to that of their husbands. Spinsters didn’t fare any better - they were
pitied and viewed as a burden to their families, only fit to look after
children or go about giving alms to the poor. For the sake of the story April’s
wishes had to be overturned; it would have been a short story had they managed
to become governesses’ and lived happily ever after!
Never the Twain: A twin tale of jealousy
and betrayal, love and murder.
The
year is 1890. The port of Whitby is heaving with sailors and where there are
sailors there are brothels doing a roaring trade. Beautiful identical twins
April and May are in desperate straits. They have been abandoned by their
actress mother and are about to have their virginity auctioned off to the
highest bidder by a notorious brothel madam.
Their
fate is hanging in the balance when Captain Edward Driscoll a handsome, wealthy
shipping tycoon from Glasgow saves them before they can be deflowered.
But
have they exchanged one form of slavery for another?
April,
reluctantly swept up in her twin’s secrets and lies unwittingly becomes
embroiled in a murderous conspiracy. Is May’s jealousy stronger than the twin
bond which has always connected them?
Available from:
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2mbA6hp
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2ksAaZI
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2mbA6hp
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2ksAaZI
Never the Twain: A dark blend of Gothic
romance and murder.
Jane
Fenwick lives in the market town of Settle in Yorkshire, England. She studied
education at Sheffield University gaining a B.Ed (Hons) in 1989 and going on to
teach primary age range children. Jane decided to try her hand at penning a
novel rather than writing school reports as she has always been an avid reader,
especially enjoying historical and crime fiction. She decided to combine her
love of both genres to write her first historical crime novel Never the Twain. Jane has always been a
lover of antiques, particularly art nouveau and art deco ceramics and turned
this hobby into a business opening an antiques and collectables shop in Settle.
However her time as a dealer was short lived; she spent far too much time in
the sale rooms buying items that ended up in her home rather than the shop!
Animal welfare is a cause close to Jane’s heart and she has been vegetarian since
the age of fourteen. For the last twenty years she has been trustee of an
animal charity which rescues and rehomes cats, dogs and all manner of creatures
looking for a forever home. Of course several of these have been “adopted” by
Jane!
Jane
has always loved the sea and although she lives in the Yorkshire Dales she is
particularly drawn to the North East coast of Yorkshire and Northumberland.
This coastline is where she gets her inspiration for the historical crime and
romance novels she writes. She can imagine how the North East ports would have
looked long ago with a forest of tall - masted ships crammed together in the
harbours, the bustling streets congested with sailors, whalers, chandlers and
sail makers. These imaginings provide the backdrop and inspire her to create
the central characters and themes of her novels. As she has always loved
history she finds the research particularly satisfying.
When
she isn’t walking on Sandsend beach with her dog Scout, a Patterdale
“Terrorist” she is to be found in her favourite coffee shop gazing out to sea
and dreaming up her next plot. Jane is currently writing a historical saga
series again set on the North East coast beginning in 1765. The first two books
are being edited at the moment; My
Constant Lady and The Turning Tides.
Look out for My Constant Lady in
2020.
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