Rosa Fedele
Well. the thing is: I love old houses. A lot.
Sometimes my heart aches profoundly at the sheer beauty of a building and I will stop and stare dumbly at the shimmering tarnished Gothic copper roof of a turret, the sun flashing off stained glass windows or the swirling ochres and russets of a Sydney sandstone wall, wishing desperately for the owner to appear at the door, smile and welcome me in for tea and biscuits.
One day, I was strolling through Glebe (one of the oldest suburbs in Sydney), admiring the old mansions, and I happened upon one house in particular. But it was more than a house; the magnificent old building riveted and mesmerised me and in the following weeks I was drawn back to the site over and over. The mansion is fronted by a brightly painted door, a glossy façade, and I imagined what the door might mask and what it could have concealed over the last 150 years: nasty, shameful secrets, possibly a poor family’s misfortune and tragedy, rotten crimes and heaven knows what other unholy messes ... and a story began to form.
I researched the origins of the house. I drafted thumbnail sketches of my main protagonist and her beautiful new home and, slowly, she came to life. Very soon, I was hosting a whole colony of characters in my head.
The same with my current manuscript - this time it's based on an old Abbey in the Sydney suburb of Annandale. It's an extraordinary Gothic revival mansion built in 1881-1882 with a dominating tower which is a local landmark, and a high enclosing stone wall. It's also rumoured to be haunted! In my book I've picked up the Abbey and moved it to another historical (and now very affluent) Sydney site, Hunters Hill.
The book is in final editing stages at the moment. I'm quite excited about it!
Sometimes my heart aches profoundly at the sheer beauty of a building and I will stop and stare dumbly at the shimmering tarnished Gothic copper roof of a turret, the sun flashing off stained glass windows or the swirling ochres and russets of a Sydney sandstone wall, wishing desperately for the owner to appear at the door, smile and welcome me in for tea and biscuits.
One day, I was strolling through Glebe (one of the oldest suburbs in Sydney), admiring the old mansions, and I happened upon one house in particular. But it was more than a house; the magnificent old building riveted and mesmerised me and in the following weeks I was drawn back to the site over and over. The mansion is fronted by a brightly painted door, a glossy façade, and I imagined what the door might mask and what it could have concealed over the last 150 years: nasty, shameful secrets, possibly a poor family’s misfortune and tragedy, rotten crimes and heaven knows what other unholy messes ... and a story began to form.
I researched the origins of the house. I drafted thumbnail sketches of my main protagonist and her beautiful new home and, slowly, she came to life. Very soon, I was hosting a whole colony of characters in my head.
The same with my current manuscript - this time it's based on an old Abbey in the Sydney suburb of Annandale. It's an extraordinary Gothic revival mansion built in 1881-1882 with a dominating tower which is a local landmark, and a high enclosing stone wall. It's also rumoured to be haunted! In my book I've picked up the Abbey and moved it to another historical (and now very affluent) Sydney site, Hunters Hill.
The book is in final editing stages at the moment. I'm quite excited about it!
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