Tracy Chevalier and Dorset

Last night there was a packed audience for Tracy Chevalier at Waterstones in Dorchester. Tracy gave a fascinating talk about her latest novel, The Last Runaway.

Born in Washington DC, Tracy has had a long association with Dorset. Honor Bright, the heroine of The Last Runaway, emigrates from Bridport, Dorset, to Ohio  in 1850 (Ohio borders Kentucky, a slave state, and was a place with a great movement of transient people, E-W, N-S, in 1850).

Why Dorset?

Tracy explained that her English husband had once suggested that they should go on holiday to Yetminster- the home of The Yetties. The family would often come on holiday to Lyme Regis, They would go to hear The Yetties at Sidmouth Folk Festival and other venues. They would always come back to Yetminster and Lyme Regis. They have had a home in the Piddle Valley for the last 9 years. Tracy has been in the UK since 1984, and holds a British passport.

Tracy always loves walking in Dorset. It had come as a shock to her that one could walk across people's land, and not get shot! Very different from the USA.

In Burning Bright, the family comes from Piddletrenthide. Remarkable Creatures, about Mary Anning, is set in Lyme Regis. Tracy loves fossils. One day she walked in to Dorchester's Dinosaur Museum. She walked out knowing that Mary Anning would be the subject of her next book.

Honor Bright, in The Last Runaway, is a Quaker, "a character who values silence, who is waiting in expectation". Tracy was originally going to set Honor's home town in Dorchester. She changed the location to Bridport because there was a Quaker Meeting House there in 1850. The Dorchester buiding is newer.

Tracy talked about the Quakers in the USA, who, her research suggested, were not always as honourable as she expected. A lot of people apparently kept their heads down, as it was illegal to help runaway slaves escape. There was a fine of 1000 dollars and a prison sentence. Seen as outsiders, the Quakers didn't want to make waves or break the law.

The author is interested in how you put strong principles into action and practice.

I asked her about the Underground Railroad (the runaway slaves' secret escape route to the North and to Canada), and the role some claim was played by the hanging of quilts by sympathetic people, quilts which are said to have contained coded directions to mark safe routes to be followed.

She didn't make use of this story in her novel, and doesn't believe it to be true. People would like to believe it, she said, but there is little or no evidence. In other words, it's a myth. Unless, I suggested, quilts were hung on balconies on occasion, as a way to indicate a safe house? One would like to believe it!

A thoroughly enjoyable evening. Waterstones is also doing a great job, and the splendidly-refurbished shop is a great asset for Dorchester.

Some useful links:

BBC Video Interview

Country Calling

You have a cottage in Dorset – could you share with us some of the places you most love?

Tracy Chevalier: Ah, there are so many, I’m going to make a list:

Sherborne Abbey – the most beautiful religious building in the country

Eggerdon Hill and Bulbarrow Hill – two ancient hill forts with glorious views

Lyme Regis and its fossil beaches – so atmospheric, with fossil treasures right there waiting for you to pick them up

The Dorset Gap – a crossing of five old paths in the Piddle Valley, along the Wessex Ridgeway. When you stand there you feel like you’ve time travelled several hundred years back. And there’s a box there with a notebook where walkers are encouraged to sign their names.

Moreton - the church there is where TE Lawrence was buried, and has curious engraved windows by Lawrence Whistler. The whole place just has a strange atmosphere about it. Lovely stream for wading and summer picnics, and the Moreton Tearooms has fabulous cakes.

The Brace of Pheasants at Plush – this list wouldn’t be complete without a classic country pub. Great food, beer, garden and atmosphere.



The Last Runaway, Review in The Independent

Tracy Chevalier on Remarkable Creatures

Dorset Echo on the inspiration for Remarkable Creatures

Tracy Chevalier's website.

A photo from Maria's own appearance at Waterstones, with reviews of her novel, The Cat of Portovecchio, Corfu Tales

Another Waterstones event, the launch of Dorset Voices (Roving Press).