Emily Organ Writer

2 weeks 1 day ago

Which omnibus should Penny get? I’m currently comparing an omnibus timetable from 1880 with a map from roughly the same time and trying to plan her route. These omnibuses were horse-drawn and had two storeys. The upper storey was open to the elements. If the omnibus was busy, the men would traditionally occupy the upstairs seats allowing women and children to sit in the cosier section downstairs.

Emily Organ Writer

2 weeks 5 days ago

London has its fair share of disused train stations, so I thought it was about time that one featured in Penny Green! In book 10, she visits the disused Tower of London station which was only open from 1882 - 1884. It was built by the Metropolitan Railway and closed because a new station, built by the Metropolitan District Railway (there’s a subtle difference), opened very close by. This second station was called Mark Lane station and became known as Tower Hill station in the 1940s. However, with not enough room for expansion, Tower Hill station was closed in 1967 (attached photo is of its ticket hall) and a new one built on the location of… the original Tower of London station. When you get the tube to the Tower of London today, you’re on the site of the first station which was built in 1882. And it has some of London’s Roman wall incorporated into its structure. There is a section of the Roman wall visible outside Tower Hill station too.

Emily Organ Writer

4 weeks 1 day ago

For those who have been waiting, Trouble in the Churchyard is out now in paperback! Luckily your copy won’t have a grey line across it 😉 hyperurl.co/55ugf6

Emily Organ Writer

1 month 1 week ago

The adventures of Penny's father, Frederick Brinsley Green, are based on the experiences of a number of Victorian plant hunters. During my research I read 'Travels and Adventures of an Orchid Hunter' by Albert Millican which demonstrates how plant hunting became little short of pillaging by 1891. Some areas which Millican travelled to had already lost their orchids to plant hunters and he spent several months felling 4,000 trees to collect 10,000 plants. Even after all this plundering many of the orchids didn’t survive the trip across the Atlantic to Britain. It was a dangerous business: Millican had arrows fired at him, had his camp attacked and was eventually killed during a fight in a Colombian tavern.

Emily Organ Writer

2 months 6 hours ago

Here's a location I've been enjoying researching for Penny Green 10. London Zoo! It opened to the public in 1847, after first being founded as a 'scientific zoo' 20 years previously. I've found some fascinating accounts and pictures from the 1870s which reveal a public entertainment side to the zoo - elephant and camel rides for children and monkeys wearing clothes. Quite typical for Victorian times I suppose! I like the detail in this map showing how the zoo was laid out in the late 19th century. It's courtesy of the National Library of Scotland.

Emily Organ Writer

2 months 1 week ago

There's a new case for two elderly detectives to solve. Coming in a few weeks! 😃

Emily Organ Writer

2 months 2 weeks ago

Here at last! The Gang of St Bride’s is available to buy in paperback 😀 📖 hyperurl.co/iaqzyb

Emily Organ Writer

2 months 4 weeks ago

There's a lot of subterranean London for Penny to explore, if you've read The Gang of St Bride's you'll know that she encounters the River Fleet. It's one of London's numerous ‘lost rivers’ which were covered over in past centuries as the city grew. Many of them were incorporated into the 19th century sewer system 💩 The Fleet is a tributary of the Thames and runs from Hampstead in north London down to its outlet beneath Blackfriars Bridge. The river is no longer visible above ground but apparently you can hear it through a grating in Ray Street, Clerkenwell.