Anna Sayburn Lane

Mystery and thriller author

News

The Stories Behind the Story: Plant hunters

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Frank Kingdon-Ward, one of the inspirations behind Death At Chelsea, is the closest thing botany has to Indiana Jones. He was one of the last great explorers, seeking out the most remote regions and enduring hair-raising escapades in the search for new flora for British gardens.

Kingdon-Ward escaped death multiple times: when a tree fell on his tent; after impaling himself on a bamboo spike; clinging to a branch after falling over a precipice; drinking nectar from rhododendrons while lost for several days without food; surviving an earthquake; evading Japanese troops in China as a spy during the second world war… his writings read like the most thrilling of Boy’s Own adventures.

I learned about him after following up a mention in a gardening magazine about a 1920s gardener who had worked with a plant hunter while designing a garden for her aristocratic clients. Plant hunters travelled the globe looking for exotic species to bring back to the UK, where gardeners seized with delight on rhododendrons, azaleas, primulas, lilies and more. I was seeking inspiration for the plot of a novel to be set around the Chelsea Flower Show, to involve rival gardeners, sabotage of precious lilies and poisonous plants.  An intrepid plant hunter, I decided, was just the extra spice the story needed.

Kingdon-Ward, born in Manchester in 1885, was commissioned by a seed-grower to visit to Yunnan province, where he collected plants, seeds and bulbs, made drawings and took photographs. It was the first of 24 expeditions in a life of adventure.

His travels took him repeatedly to the mountains and valleys east of the Himalayas, crossing borders between south west China, north east India, Tibet, Bhutan, and Burma (now Myanmar). One of his most celebrated travels was to the steep and inhospitable Tsangpo Gorge, where the river slices through land held holy by Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims. This was where he discovered the Himalayan blue poppy and the Giant Tibetan Cowslip, among other finds.

He was still exploring at the age of 68, when he went climbing in Burma, only four years before his sudden death from a stroke.

I adapted Kingdon-Ward’s travels in Tibet for my fictional 1920s plant hunter, Ernest Buckler, who was a much nastier character than Kingdon-Ward had been! The blue poppies also influenced my imagining of the precious Himalayan Sapphire Lilies brought back from Tibet by Mr Buckler and his companions, due to be unveiled at the 1924 Chelsea Flower Show.

Mr Kingdon-Ward’s description of crossing vertiginous gorges by perilous rope bridges gave me an idea or two as well – but you’ll have to read the book to find out more!

To find out more about the hair-raising adventures of Kingdon-Ward, and the research I do for my novels, have a look at my Substack, The Stories Behind the Story.

The Stories Behind the Story: Venice

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If you enjoyed my Christmas story for newsletter subscribers, A  Venetian Masquerade, you might like to hear about the research behind it. The story was prompted by my favourite trip of 2024, a visit to the magical floating city of Venice. As the city shimmered from the waters of the lagoon and the vaporetto ferried us to the city, I fell under enchantment. I already knew I’d want to write about Venice one day.

Lots of details from that trip stayed with me and made it into the story. We ate chichetti and drank Campari spritz at a bar on the corner of Campo S. Toma, right next to a mask and carnival costume shop. I marvelled at the ornate costumes and masks, so beautiful and colourful. The idea of donning a mask and gliding through the city incognito immediately lodged in my mind.

I didn’t fix on the story I wanted to tell until I discovered that carnival season starts right after Christmas, on December 26, or St Stephen’s Day. Online research then told me that masks and gambling were associated with carnival, and masked gambling in ‘ridotto’ entertainments were only allowed during the carnival season.

I immediately wanted to see my redoubtable sleuth Mrs Jameson, newly married, unmask a card cheat. I knew she would learn something about her husband, perhaps something she didn’t want to know. And I liked the idea that masks came into it somehow, so decided to learn more about Venetian masks.

I remembered the close-fitting Volto masks, the classic full-faced masks, at the little shop in Campo San Toma, and the white Bauta masks, flared at the bottom to allow the wearer to eat and drink. The pretty Columbina masks are familiar from the Commedia dell’Arte , and I’d seen the sinister Medico della Peste, or plague doctor masks, with their long beaked nose.

But there was one mask I’d only seen in paintings of carnival – the Moretta. I found it shocking and rather horrible. It’s an oval mask, made of black velvet, with holes for eyes but no mouth. It has no ribbon, but it held in place by the woman (they are only worn by women) holding a button on the back in their teeth. Speak, and the mask falls.

The Moretta mask

To find out more about Venetian masks and see photographs from my trip, have a look at my Substack, The Stories Behind the Story.

To join my Readers Club and receive short stories and other news, sign up below.

January newsletter: reading recommendations and a creative New Year workshop

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I hope you’ve had a good festive break, whether you’ve been celebrating Christmas, Hanukka, Diwali or simply pausing in the depths of mid-winter. I enjoyed a cozy Christmas in Deal with my husband and parents, after a wonderful week’s writing retreat in Devon.

The course was tutored by historical novelists Anna Mazzola and Natasha Pulley. They helped eight of us work on our novels, from my 1920s murder mysteries to Regency romances and sea-faring adventures from the age of sail.

The staff at the 14th century farmhouse where we stayed pulled out all the stops for a celebratory Medieval Christmas Banquet, complete with music. Some of us made impromptu medieval costumes (see my attempt left) – it was a lot of fun!

On the last night we all read pieces from our work in progress and I’m pleased that the sneak preview of Death On Fleet Street went down very well. I’m working on edits this month, and hope to have it with you in February or March.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to say they enjoyed my Christmas short story, A Venetian Masquerade. If you’d like to know more about the inspiration for the story, including more about Venetian masks, take a look at my Substack post here.

Read on for recommendations, book news, a Creative January workshop, and a New Year promotion.

Stepping out: travels through words and song

Exciting news! Following the success of our summer seaside workshop, musician Katie Rose and I are back to offer a creative boost for January.

The singing and writing workshop is themed around travel and journeys, as we take our first steps into 2025. Expect travellers’ tales and songs, creative soundscapes and signposts for your own creative journey.

Stepping Out will be held upstairs at the Brown & Green Life Cafe in Crystal Palace Park, London SE20 8DS.

It takes place on Sunday January 26, from 10.30am to 4pm. Tickets are £50 (£40 concessions).

 

Death On Fleet Street

Death On Fleet Street is the fifth Marjorie Swallow book and it might just be my favourite yet. I began my journalism career in the 1990s, by which time most of the British newspapers had already left London’s Fleet Street, which was the hub of the newspaper industry for centuries. So it was wonderful to research the heyday of Fleet Street, when media barons like Lord Beaverbrook set up newspapers like the Daily Mirror, and the newspapers themselves were printed using linotype machines and hot metal.

I took a trip to the St Bride Institute’s printing workshop by Fleet Street (pictured) to talk to retired Fleet Street printers about how it all worked, and read some hair-raising memoirs and autobiographies of journalists from the street. I particularly enjoyed the autobiography of Lord Beaverbrook’s daughter Janet, which gave me plenty of ideas for my fictional media baron, the loathsome Lord Ravensbourne. I’ll share more about the research when the book is published.

That should be quite soon now – my copyeditor will be working on it this month and I’ll be sending it to beta readers very soon. You can pre-order here. You won’t be charged until the book is published.

Reading recommendations

Spring and flowers might seem a long way off, but Rosie Hunt’s new mystery, Murder At A Flower Show, will have you feeling spring-like in no time.

Lady Felicity Quick receives a peculiar invitation. A prestigious competition between British rose growers seeks celebrity judges, and Felicity is top of their list.

Despite a lack of interest in flowers, and after a spot of meddling by her beloved grandmother, Felicity finds herself surrounded by sweet-smelling blooms in the charming Devonshire village of Bickleford. And as romance blossoms, judging the flower show proves surprisingly enjoyable…

Until Britain’s most notorious rose breeder is found murdered behind the floral marquee — with Felicity’s own grandma as the prime suspect! Can Felicity unearth Bickleford’s secrets in time to save her grandmother? Find out here!

I’m also recommending two excellent novels by my lovely Arvon tutors:

  • Anna Mazzola‘s The Unseeing, about a lawyer drawn into investigating a murder in 1837 London. It’s based on a true life case, the Edgware Road murder, and asks why a convicted woman might not tell the secret that could free her…
  • Natasha Pulley‘s The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, a magical tale of clockwork, friendship and love in Victorian London. Who could resist a tale with a clockwork octopus and a replica Japanese village in Knightsbridge (astonishingly a real place)?

Free e-books for January

I’m taking part in the New Year Cozy Mystery giveaway promotion on Bookfunnel throughout January, where you can find dozens of mysteries to download.

December newsletter: a festive stocking full of stories

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I’ve had a wonderful time meeting readers at fairs and markets this month. Writing can be a solitary business, so it’s great fun getting out and talking to people about my books.

It gives me the chance to thank people in person when they buy a book – something I can’t do when you buy online. But I’d like to take this chance to say a big, heart-felt ‘thank you’ to all of you – everyone who has read, bought, borrowed or recommended one of my books this year. It’s been my best ever year as an author, and you made it possible.

I’m doing one more Christmas fair this year, at St George’s Hall in my home town of Deal in Kent, on Saturday 7 December. If you’re in the area, do drop in and say hello!

Now it’s December, I’m planning a jolly Christmas by the sea, with a big Christmas tree, delicious food and my family visiting. Will I manage the traditional dip in the sea on Christmas day?

But before the festive fun, I’ve booked myself a special treat – a week on an Arvon Foundation writing retreat in Devon. I’ll be surrounded by other writers, with helpful tutors and plenty of time to write, walk, chat and think, surrounded be glorious countryside. It’ll be a great way to unwind and contemplate editing the first draft of Death On Fleet Street.

Read on for more writing news and festive recommendations.

Writing news

Death On Fleet Street, the next Marjorie Swallow mystery, is on its way to the editor! I’ve finished the first draft and my designer Donna has come up with another brilliant cover. You can pre-order now – you won’t be charged until it’s ready to deliver in February or March.

Marjorie and Mrs Jameson are called in when the Daily Post newspaper receives a death notice for Lord Ravensbourne. Not unusual, you might think – but Lord Ravensbourne is the owner of the Post, and he’s still very much alive… for now!

Marjorie gets to work uncovering which of Lord R’s many enemies might have sent it – and wondering if someone plans to make the threat a reality.

Pre-order here.

A trio of festive recommendations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tis the season to curl up with a Christmas mystery! Agatha Christie, one of my favourite authors, was known for publishing ‘a Christie for Christmas’, so more or less inventing the seasonal Christmas book frenzy.

I have three festive historical mysteries to recommend:

Verity Bright’s A Midwinter Murder. Amazingly enough, this is the 20th Lady Eleanor Swift book! Lady Eleanor is hoping for a cozy Christmas by the fire with her new fiance – but the house party is interrupted by murder, just as Audwyke Hall on the Yorkshire Moors is cut off in a blizzard…

Benedict Brown’s The Christmas Candle Murders, the latest in his much-loved Chrissie and Lord Edgington series. Benedict says this is his favourite Christmas book so far, “set in a snowy English village with a thousand secrets, bad Christmas presents, far too many decorations and a string of inexplicable murders…”

The Emerald Threads, the latest Regency mystery from Lynn Morrison and Anne Radcliffe. It’s set at Alnwick Castle, a real and spectacular castle in Northumberland, where mysteries abound for Lady Grace and Lord Roland on a Christmas visit.
If you can squeeze a few more mysteries in your stocking after those, I’m taking part in the December Free Cozy Mysteries promotion on Bookfunnel, where you can find dozens of mysteries to download.

The Big Give

In the frenzy of present-buying and food preparations, it’s easy to forget about the wider world. A charity I always like to support at Christmas is Book Trust, which sends books to vulnerable children.

No matter what’s happening in a child’s life, a good book is can be a comfort and refuge. Help BookTrust give the gift of reading this Christmas and share the enchanting world of books with families.

November newsletter: Read all about it!

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I’ve relocated from the seaside to London, while I help to plan a big walk for the Refugee Tales project. Next July I’ll be leading groups of walkers in a 60-mile partial circumnavigation of the city, on a route adapted from the Capital Ring.

It’s been a delight to get out and about in some sunny, cold autumn weather, and a real pleasure to visit parts of London I haven’t seen before, to the north and west of the city. Perhaps the walk will inspire me – watch out for Death In Finchley, or The Wembley Park Murders!

The walks get me away from my desk, where I’m hard at work on the next book, set in the newspaper world of 1920s Fleet Street. I’ve immersed myself in the newspaper lore of the 1920s, reading memoirs and old newspapers to get a feel for what it must have been like to work in the Street of Newspapers.

Read on for more about newspapers and history, free book promotions, and recommendations for books and other entertainment to keep you busy through November.

My favourite research tool: the British Newspaper Archive

Old newspapers give a fascinating glimpse into the world of the past. This week I’ve been dipping into the archives on a daily basis, as I put together the first draft of Death On Fleet Street.

What might a fictional national newspaper put on its front page in February 1924? Well, a quick search and I can find out: A scandalous divorce case involving a Lord, a Lady… and the butler. What were ordinary people worried about? The price of sugar, which was up a penny a pound. Who might a newspaper proprietor have lunch with at the Savoy Grill? How about up-and-coming politician Winston Churchill, standing as an independent ‘anti-socialist’ candidate at a by-election that month?

The only problem is that I get so engrossed in reading historical newspapers, I forget what I was supposed to be writing about!

If you’d like to learn more about the treasures I’ve unearthed from the archive, check out my Substack post Read All About It! And why not sign up to receive all my posts about historical research?

Books, podcasts and fun for November nights

There’s something so comforting about curling up with a good book on a dark night. One of my favourite writers, India Knight, has published a list of her favourite ‘comfort reads’ – books she returns to when she wants to retreat to ‘really deeply satisfying, fully realised worlds where you feel safe and cosy.’

The full list is here, but the ones I’ve read and wholeheartedly recommend include Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love; Winifred Watson’s Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day; Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women, EF Benson’s Mapp And Lucia; and Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. I’ll add in my all-time favourite book to re-read, Stella Gibbon’s Cold Comfort Farm.

Less cosily, I’ve enjoyed listening to the always-excellent Lucy Worsley explore the world of female villains in her new podcast series, Lady Swindlers. I especially enjoyed learning about Alice Diamond, the queen of 1920s shop-lifters, and her all-female gang, the Forty Thieves. They raided the newly fashionable department stores, filling up their specially-made shoplifter bloomers with stolen goods! It’s given me a few ideas for future Marjorie Swallow adventures.

And finally, no I haven’t watched the television adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals yet. I adored the book as a teenager, and I plan to lock myself away next weekend with chocolate and the Big TV, and watch the whole thing in one go. Have you watched it yet, and if so what did you think?

Free books!

Looking for a few more autumnal cozy mysteries to squeeze into your e-reader? Check out the Cozy Mystery Free Book promotion at Bookfunnel for free novels and novellas. It runs until November 24.

October newsletter: cozy reading for rainy days

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The seasons have definitely turned in Britain and it’s perfect weather for curling up by the fire with a cup of tea and a good book. I’m home after an eventful trip (see below) and enjoying reading the lovely reviews for The Riviera Mystery. I’m also getting started on writing the next Marjorie Swallow adventure, which will be set in the newspaper world of 1920s Fleet Street.

Read on for travel misadventures, reading recommendations and promotions.

An adventure on the water

September is often a glorious month in the UK, with late summer sunshine and mellow temperatures making it my favourite time to travel. So I was looking forward a week-long trip on a narrowboat in the English Midlands for the end of September.

Britain is criss-crossed by canals, man-made waterways which were used to ferry heavy goods like coal around the country during the industrial revolution. Long cast-iron narrowboats, originally horse-drawn and later motorised, supplied fuel to the factories of the industrial revolution and moved goods from one end of the country to the other. They fell into disuse after the rise of the railways but recently the canals have been restored and now many people choose to live or take leisure trips on converted narrowboats.

It can be fun, trundling gently through the countryside at four miles an hour. You do need nerves of steel to steer a 60-foot boat from the tiller at the rear through some of the narrow, winding sections of canal, not to mention navigating and working the frequent locks which are used to raise or lower boats from a higher to lower section of canal.

But I didn’t bank on the weather. We had about an hour of sunshine before the heavens opened. Our trip coincided with the heaviest rain we’ve had for months. Not only did we get soaked steering the boat and working the locks, but some sections of the canal were closed because of dangerous flooding, which meant our boat might have been swept into the fields with the cows! We moored up and waited for the waters to recede.

There are two British responses to this sort of thing. The first is to make a cup of tea. The second is to go to the pub. Luckily we had a kettle and plenty of teabags, and our mooring was close to a fine inn, The Swan, which had an open fire, good beer and served tasty and enormous meals. Even better, I had a good book on the go, Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, which I’m re-reading for a book club.

It may not have been the holiday I hoped for. But as Marjorie discovered in The Riviera Mystery, sometimes even the best holiday doesn’t quite work out as planned. I’m sure she’d agree that a cup of tea, good food and a gripping book makes it all worthwhile!

The Stories Behind the Story

A quick reminder that, if you are keen on learning more about the historical research I do for my novels, you can find out more on my separate newsletter, The Stories Behind the Story. Next week I’ll be sharing some of my favourite finds in the British Newspaper Archives.

Sunny books for rainy days

After my soggy adventure, I’m drawn to some sunny books! And coincidentally there are not one but two newly-published Egyptian adventures on my to-be-read pile.

Sara Rosett, author of the 1920s High Society Lady Detective series, has a new mystery featuring a Lady Traveller in Egypt, starting with Murder Among The Pyramids.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Verity Bright’s next book, Murder On The Nile, sees Lady Eleanor Swift and butler cruising down the Nile on the SS Cleopatra – when the inevitable happens and the cruise is interrupted by murder.

At least none of my narrowboat adventures resulted in a corpse! (Although I wouldn’t bank against my experiences finding their way into fiction at some point.)

Promotion

Looking for a few more autumnal cozy mysteries to squeeze into your e-reader? Check out the Everything Nice Cozy Mystery promotion at Bookfunnel for free novels and novellas.