Publisher, possibly

I finally plucked up the courage to begin contacting publishers about the book. All the advice seemed to say 'Don't email publishers, they don't like it' and 'Publishers will keep you waiting weeks for a reply, so be patient.' Wrong on both counts.

I began by searching 'The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook' for suitable publishers and made a list. Then I checked out each of their web sites and eliminated a few. There were several which gave email addresses for initial contact. So, using the advice from the yearbook, I composed an enquiry letter and emailed it off with my Introduction, which contains a synopsis, and a chapter list with brief details. Most non-fiction publishers expect a proposal, and you will only write the book once they have agreed. I made it clear that the book is already written and substantially edited.

So yesterday morning I sent the emails and went out. When I came home I had a reply from one publisher asking to see the book! So today I printed it out and wrote a cover letter, and it will be posted tomorrow!

Watch this space.

Latest Draft and a New Title

Well, it's finished. For how long, I don't know. The book ended up over fifteen thousand words long, with over two hundred endnotes. Some references I couldn't find so I rewrote the passage, but I found some new stuff as well. It's hard to know where to stop. I have found a sweet story about Alina since, and I don't know whether to put that in as well. Maybe I'll blog it.

I have also amended the title to better reflect what it is about. It is now called 'The White Lady of Oystermouth and the Fall of a King'.

Anyway, for now, it has gone off to the kind people at the Historical Association for comment, and to my husband, who has not read it before. He is my sternest critic. So watch this space.

The Friends of Oystermouth Castle

Great news! I contacted the chairman of the Friends of Oystermouth Castle to tell him I had finished the first draft of the book, and he invited me to their AGM last night. I also sent him a copy of the book, which he said he would look at before the meeting.

I was the last item on the agenda under 'Any Other Business', but the meeting itself was very interesting, and I have a copy of the plans for the refurbishment and development of the castle over the next few years. They hope to have up to £2.2m to spend, and the plans, especially for the visitors centre in Alina's chapel, are fabulous.

Anyway, I was nervous that they would say that it had been done before, or not be very interested, but the members were great. They all thought it was a great idea, and 12 people have offered to read it - I emailed it to two, and the rest will have photocopies from the chairman. Several people stopped to give me encouragement, and one was a Swansea Councillor, who said he would give me every assistance, and just to ask him if there was anything he could do. He offered to pass the manuscript on to the project manager for the castle development, in Swansea Council. So who knows what will happen.

The chairman was impressed with the book and made some useful comments (like the fact that I spelled 'peninsula' with an r at the end!). I will wait for comment from the others before I start revision. I am much more confident now than I was before.

Alina Timeline

I spent some time last night creating a timeline for Alina's life, and noticed some things I hadn't noticed before. Here's the first part of the timeline, and my comments afterwards. See if you spot them too.

1291 Born to William & Agnes de Breos, same year he inherited. Named after William's mother. Older brother William, older sister Joan.
Father served the king in many wars – so away a lot.
1295 Joan married James de Bohun of Midhurst.
1297 Betrothed to William's ward, John de Mowbray.
1298 Married John de Mowbray in Swansea Castle – he was 12, she was 7. Marriage never paid for by her father.
Father unpaid debts and law suits etc. 1305 he was sent briefly to the Tower.
1310 Son John born (Alina 19), William fighting in Scotland.
1315 William had installed his son William in Landimore in north Gower.
1316 William obtained royal licence to settle all but one of his English manors on Alina & John – did not include Gower.
1317 Mother dead by now, father marries heiress Elizabeth de Sully. (Alina 26).
1318/19 William selling off Gower to several people to raise money.
1320 Husband John seizes Gower to protect Alina's inheritance. King sends men to take it back, John leads rebellion against the king, many barons join. Rebellion defeated.
1320 Brother William dies.
1321 King pardons de Mowbray.

Already you can begin to see what a life she led - it certainly wasn't boring. Lots more happened later, but I won't give it away yet.

Anyway, the first thing that surprised me was that, although her brother William would have been the heir, her father arranged to settle most of his English manors on Alina and her husband. Presumably, her brother would inherit Gower, but why not everything?

And what about her older sister Joan? She doesn't seem to have been promised anything. Even when her brother dies, Joan still isn't mentioned. Maybe her marriage gave her a great land-holding, and she didn't need anything from her father. I haven't looked into her husband, but it's probably not worth it, as she probably moved away to her husband's estates, and died in 1323.

I intend to look into the English estates, but they were worth something, as Alina later sold them when she was in desperate straits. Would the lordship of Gower outweigh them, or was Alina being given a greater inheritance than her brother? Alina's husband, John de Mowbray, was William's ward, so maybe her felt he was keeping it in the family by leaving the estates to them.

When her brother William died, Alina and John became heirs to Gower as well, which was highly prized and fought over in the following years. More on that later.

There was another curiosity. Alina later married Richard de Peschale, and assuming she didn't have his children before they married, she appears to have had four children in three years - quite and achievement! I'll keep you posted on my research.