endlessrarities | French Revolution

I splashed out last week, on a boxed DVD set of the BBC costume drama The Scarlet Pimpernel'. I'm not usually a fan of lightweight swashbuckling romantic adventure fiction, but I've a soft spot for this one, mainly on account of Richard E Grant, who plays the eponymous hero.

Here's a copy of a picture of Richard E Grant in demonic mood, just to set the scene.

Now, being a writer, I do what writers always do and spend my life putting together a fantasy cast for the hypothetical films of my novels. This is always a source of endless fun and entertainment. For some reason, Richard E Grant struck me almost immediately as being a dead ringer for the anti-hero of my first novel, a 'D' List Scots Earl who nearly made it to the big time in the reign of James V but who never quite climbed up to the top tier. His name was Hugh Montgomerie, and he was made 1st Earl of Eglinton in the early 16th century.

When I first started doing research for my novel, I found myself wading through endless accounts of historical documents which meant absolutely nothing and entirely failed to stick in my memory. My first meeting with Hugh Montgomerie was a marriage contract arranged between Himself and A N Other which stipulated that Son A should marry Daughter A, and if anything happened to Son A, then Son B would be substituted, and so on. And if Daughter A should die then Daughter B would take her place, etcetera, etcera.

Gobbledigook! Or at least it was until I started to put faces to names. Then I started to remember things. Dead characters from the past came to life. They started to take on personalities.

Richard E seemed a natural choice for Hugh. He seems perfect for a man who's irascible, energetic and slightly dark in his motives. When I saw 'Withnail and I' at a much later date (by this time, I was into Book Two, where Hugh takes centre-stage) I knew my choice was right. He was even the right age! Withnail was a twisted, unhappy reflection of Hugh, miserable and soured by life's perceived injustices.

Unfortunately, the years are passing, and I've missed the boat. Dear old Richard E couldn't get away with playing a thirty year old, not even a medieval thirty year old.

Of course, the real Hugh Montgomerie probably looked nothing like Richard E Grant. He probably looked more like Brian Blessed's character in 'Blackadder' Series 1, all beard and unkempt hair and shoulders like a centre forward in the All Blacks.

As for the 18th century... I'm not a big fan, I'm afraid. I went off it even more when I read a book on food history which recounted how lambs and pigs were flogged prior to slaughter at this time in order to tenderise the meat. Thankfully, the Victorians put an end to this horrific practice. But despite my inbuilt dislike of this period, one of my favourite historical novels - in fact, one of my favourite novels full stop - is set in the 18th century. It's 'A Place of Greater Safety' by Hilary Mantel and it's the absolute antithesis of 'The Scarlet Pimpernel'. This book is historical fiction at its best, I think. History unfolds, almost by accident, and its perpetrators, Robespierre, Danton et. al. are almost swept along by the events that they unleash. It's dense, it's complex, and the most horrible events are recounted in an offhand, almost callous way. I find it a gripping read, and it's one I wholeheartedly recommend.

I haven't read 'Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel yet. I''m waiting for the paperback edition to come out, in the belief it'll look better on my bookshelf. Since my novels mainly focus on the late fifteenth century onwards, the machinations of Henry VIII's court are a source of immense interest.