Diversion Books
asked
Seth Margolis:
Hi Seth! You've clearly done a lot of research to lend a sense of authenticity to this novel--can you tell your readers a bit about the kind of digging you did to prepare?
Seth Margolis
THE SEMPER SONNET is about a current-day Ph.D. candidate who comes across what she feels certain is a heretofore unknown sonnet by Shakespeare. But when she reads a portion of it on the air, she’s attacked and quickly realizes that the sonnet contains clues to a long-buried secret involving Elizabeth … and possibly the knowledge needed to cause global destruction.
Early in my research, I came across a marvelous book, ELIZABETH’S LONDON by Liza Picard. It is so well researched and so energetically written, you can practically smell London in the sixteenth century, taste the codlings (baked applies) and sheep lungs (no explanation needed), hear the cries of street vendors along Cornhill and Cheapside.
I also did some on-the-scene research in England, including at Hatfield, Elizabeth’s childhood home. This was where Elizabeth was essentially imprisoned by her half-sister, “Bloody” Mary. It’s also where a pivotal – and invented – scene in my novel occurs, and standing in the great hall of the old palace at Hatfield gave me the information I needed to write it with confidence.
I also quite a few hours in Westminster Abbey, specifically Henry VII’s Lady Chapel, considered last great masterpiece of English medieval architecture. More relevant to my novel, it’s where Elizabeth is entombed. I imagine I looked more than a little suspicious to the beadles standing watch – yes, they really are called beadles. Their suspicions were no doubt confirmed when I queried them at length about the security cameras installed throughout the Chapel. To my relief, they were as knowledgeable about modern heat-sensitive surveillance technology as medieval history. I couldn’t have conceived of the scene without their expertise.
Early in my research, I came across a marvelous book, ELIZABETH’S LONDON by Liza Picard. It is so well researched and so energetically written, you can practically smell London in the sixteenth century, taste the codlings (baked applies) and sheep lungs (no explanation needed), hear the cries of street vendors along Cornhill and Cheapside.
I also did some on-the-scene research in England, including at Hatfield, Elizabeth’s childhood home. This was where Elizabeth was essentially imprisoned by her half-sister, “Bloody” Mary. It’s also where a pivotal – and invented – scene in my novel occurs, and standing in the great hall of the old palace at Hatfield gave me the information I needed to write it with confidence.
I also quite a few hours in Westminster Abbey, specifically Henry VII’s Lady Chapel, considered last great masterpiece of English medieval architecture. More relevant to my novel, it’s where Elizabeth is entombed. I imagine I looked more than a little suspicious to the beadles standing watch – yes, they really are called beadles. Their suspicions were no doubt confirmed when I queried them at length about the security cameras installed throughout the Chapel. To my relief, they were as knowledgeable about modern heat-sensitive surveillance technology as medieval history. I couldn’t have conceived of the scene without their expertise.
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