10th August 2017
First published by The Pool on 8th August, 2017.
1. The shelf is a lacquered writing desk that I have had for years and love dearly. I bought it in the certainty that black lacquer was the new and fashionable Next Thing. I was right – but about 200 years too late.
2. The hat reflects my great love of hats, which is so rarely satisfied. Nobody routinely wears hats any more, except sun hats and caps, and this is clearly no good for either shade or shooting. It’s a vintage Dior and I bought it and wore it precisely once. But every now and then I am invited somewhere grand and I try it on – and then return it to the box. But isn’t it a glory?
3. This is a silly sign that I may get tired of, but at the moment it makes me smile. It says: "What if the Hokey Cokey really IS what it’s all about?"
4. To the left of the sign are some beautiful editions of my own books. The 30th anniversary edition of my first novel, Wideacre, the collector’s edition of my first Plantagenet novel, The White Queen, and my new novel, The Last Tudor, with a beautiful black and gold jacket.
5. This is a little enamel Noah’s Ark with paired animals. I love the story of the flood and the ark, and have several versions of the story that I read to my children and now re-read to my grandchildren. I have two wooden Noah’s Arks, as well – it’s such a great story of forgiveness, hope and conservation.
6. On the top shelf are two cheerful figurines: one a fat glass hen from my friend in Hawaii, because we share a love of chickens, and one a real object of power, a duck carved from soapstone by an artist of Canada’s First Nation. To hold it in the palm of one’s hand is like holding a live duckling – the shape is evocative and the fit is exact. I don’t know the value of it, but it is a precious thing.
The Last Tudor is available now. Order it here: UK | USA | Canada | Australia & New Zealand