Triggering An Idea for a Mystery!

Andrea here, musing today about the little ah-ha moments that trigger the ideas for my books. "Trigger" is the key word here, for my upcoming release, MURDER AT THE SERPENTINE BRIDGE, (which hits the shelves on September 27th) revolves around the missing prototype and technical drawings for a revolutionary new pistol that would give the country who possesses it an overwhelming military advantage. Now, I'm often asked where I get the inspirations for my mysteries. The answer is—from real-life history!

I'm a total history nerd and love exploring esoteric museums, exhibits, libraries, etc for those sudden inspirations which ignite a plot concept. The seed of of my new book was planted several years ago when I saw an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum on the leading gunmakers of Regency London. Joseph Manton, Robert Wogdon—and Durs Egg (you have to love that name!) were the leaders and made a number of striking innovations in designing their firearms.

I was particularly fascinated by Egg's design for a double barreled pocket pistol with an advanced technology that could fire two shots in succession by pulling the trigger twice. (I used this pistol in a key scene A TANGLE OF SERPENTS, one  of my Lady Arianna mysteries.)

The exhibit captions stressed that the elite London gunmakers created momentous improvements in firearms, focusing on accuracy, speed of firing, and engineering inventions that made their pistols even more lethal. One caption states that there were, " . . .dozens of patents for a dizzying variety of new technologies ranging from improved lock mechanisms to innovative barrel-making techniques." It was really a golden age of pistol-making.

My interest in Egg led me to do some more research on pistols—which led to another of my favorite pastimes: going down the research rabbit hole! I made some fascinating discoveries about Egg and his work for the British military—more on that in a moment—but another link caught my eye and led me to discover Elisha Collier, an American inventor who came up with a truly revolutionary pistol that changed the history of firearms.

Collier, an inventor who also went on to design a new boiler for steam ships and a machine that mass produced nails, began experiments with a multi-shot flintlock pistol that used a rotating cylinder to hold the bullets. The cylinder had to be rotated manually, but still, he also engineered a special mechanism that refilled the pan after each pull of the trigger. So the weapon could fire muti-shots without reloading—a huge advantage. especially in war.

There is not much written about Collier, but we do know he came to Britain in 1818 and patented his new pistol in London, where a number of them were made. It's said that a young Samuel Colt saw a Collier pistol and got his idea for the famous Colt 45, an icon of the American West.

Now, back to me and the rabbit hole! After reading about Collier, I had an ah-ha moment. I had been playing with the idea of setting a mystery in London during the gala Peace Celebration during the Summer, 1814, when the major European heads of state gathered in the city to celebrate the defeat of Napoleon and his exile to the isle of Elba. And in a sudden spark of inspiration, it occurred to me that having the protoptype of a new type of weapon go missing from the research laboratories at the Royal Armory at Woolwich could be a fun plot. (I have based my fictitious weapon on Collier's pistol, on the theory that a brilliant inventor could very well have come up with the same idea several years earlier.) Given that the world leaders were all in one place, I decided to have the villains offer the weapon for auction to the highest bidder . . .

Wrexford is called in by the government and asked to help retrieve the stolen weapon, as his position in Society will allow him and Charlotte to attend all the fancy parties. Having no love lost for government bureaucracy, they are leery about it. But a family connection to the intrigue forces their hand . . .

The plot takes a lot of twists and turns, and I had great fun weaving in many real-life people into the various scenes, including the Tsar of Russia, the Prince Regent and William Congreve, inventor of the Congreve rocket and the man who designed all the fireworks for the gala celebrations. Durs Egg also figures in the story and—no spoiler—but another of his innovations plays a part in helping Wrexford and Charlotte figure out the villain behind the plot.

I'm curious—do you like having real-life characters woven into a fictional plot? And do you find it interesting to have a story woven through a real historical event like the Peace Celebrations?

 

 

 

Comments

[Pat Dupuy]

Real-life characters and real events add depth to a story that elevates it. I love those kind of details!

[Lil Marek]

I'm kind of ambivalent about real-life characters. If they're in the background, or if they are real but not well-known, I'm fine with them. But if they are too well known the problem is that not everyone thinks the same way about them. For example, many people admire the Duke of Wellington, but I would have been one of the people heaving rocks at his windows when he was prime minister. Nor do I much like Queen Victoria. But I do admire Henry Brougham, though he must have been a pain in the neck to deal with.
On the other hand, I very much like it when real events turn up in—and affect—the story. And then you really do need to include real people because they are part of the event.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Andrea, I agree that real history greatly enriches a story, and so do real people, though if they're famous, best they be used briefly. Sometimes I put in real people I came across that no one will ever notice--I do it for fun. For example, in my last book Once A Laird, my hero started in Istanbul and I found the name of the real English ambassador at the time. When hero visited to resign, I was able to use him, plus give them similar educations in languages at the University of Edinburgh. No one else will ever care, but it makes me smile. *G*

[Misti]

I don't mind historical figures if they are in the background a bit. I do love real events or places though. I love getting a taste of some event or place that gets me excited to learn more about and I can go down my own rabbit hole.

[Tricia]

I love when an author uses real people and events to enhance their stories. As long as the author stays true to known history and doesn't try to change Atilla the Hun into a nice guy who wasjust misunderstood.
I am fascinated by the information about Elisha Collier. My revolver is my weapon of choice but it gets so hot I can't imagine having to turn the cylinder by hand. I have used a black powder rifle and it is difficult to follow all the steps to load it properly, doing it under pressure while someone else is shooting back makes me appreciate standard ammunition.

[Patricia Franzino]

It's the best story to read historical fiction with real-life characters and real events that involve fictional characters and their growth and development as the story unfolds.

[Andrea Penrose]

Thanks ,Pat. Glad you feel that way. I do try not to let the setting distract from the storyline and characters. This just happened to be a special opportunity to use amemorable slice of history as a backdrop.

[Andrea Penrose]

Lil, I agree with you that famous people can distract from a fictional story because the reader likely has personal opinions about them. I do try to keep those people in the background (though I do like to play with some details, like the Tsar of Russia and the Prince Regent didn't like each other and were constantly doing petty little things to needle each other.)

[Andrea Penrose]

Totally agree, Mary Jo! I enjoy putting in esoteric real life people (like Durs Egg) into a story just because it's a fun little "Easter egg." (In the solitude of the writing room, one has to oneself amused!)

Famous real people sometimes have to be at a certain event because they were, but I try to keep them in the background.

[Andrea Penrose]

Ha! Another person who enjoys rabbit holes! I'm glad you enjoy that, Misti. I love seeing something in a book that makes me want to learn more about it.

[Andrea Penrose]

Wow, how cool that you have fired a black powder rifle. I would love to shoot with a Regency pistol and actually feel the kick.

I can't imagine how foot soldiers reloaded muskets in the heat of battle. I also wonder about rainy days. How on earth did they keep their powder dry?

[Andrea Penrose]

So glad you enjoy that genre, Paticia. I also love historical fiction that places fictional characters within a real setting, like the bombings of London, and then weaves a story that captures the mood of the time and place while developing the individual characters against the backdrop.

[Lil Marek]

I love the Tsar and the Regent siping at each other!

[Jeanne Behnke]

I love when real events & people are part of the story! One of the reasons I love reading ebooks on a device connected to the internet. You just click on the person or event (or whatever) and do the google search and you have so much more context. Then you just go back to kindle right where you left off. I guess that is the rabbit hole!

[Karin]

I enjoy seeing real characters in historical fiction, as well as real events. In fact it's pretty hard to avoid real events during the Regency, with the Napoleonic Wars going on, unless your characters are living in a vacuum! I especially enjoy books set during Waterloo, and during the Congress of Vienna, which was loaded with interesting characters, so almost anything goes.
By the way, I was lucky enough to win a copy of Murder on the Serpentine Bridge at Goodreads, I can't wait to receive it!

[Annette N]

Thanks for this post and the interesting pictures of the pistols. I do not mind famous events being part of the plot. I am ambivalent about famous people being involved. Basically, that depends on how the author presents the people and events.

I have seen some pictures of the Heads of States in London. It is evident they were all quite impressed with themselves, or else their valets were all crazy and went over the top with uniforms.

Thanks again for the post. Hope everyone is well.

[Kareni]

I enjoy a well researched story; I do appreciate a note from the author where she/he mentions what was true and where liberties have been taken to enhance the story. Thank you for your fascinating post, Andrea.

[Teresa Broderick]

Great post. I too like famous people kept in the backgrounds of stories but I don't mind them being there. Real events are great to read about when the H/h are partaking in some way. I learn a lot about history this way. Books I really can't read are when someone takes a real person and writes a totally fictional story around them. I can't see the point of that!!
I read an ARC of your book Andrea and I loved it!! The covers too of the whole series are gorgeous.

[Laura Lee]

Absolutely! I'm a big history nerd too. And I love the rabbit hole.

[Jane Axelrod]

One of the things i love about your books is the way you weave in these historical bits of information in your plot and use them as the basis fir the mystery, And they are not the well known ones, like the Collier pistol , and the inventions and scientific information is fascinating and unusual in each book. You manage to make it both interesting and understandable.
I was so happy to discover your books, they give me hours of pleasure.
Thank you!