Showing posts with label Gracie Fairshaw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gracie Fairshaw. Show all posts

Wednesday 28 February 2024

Taking inspiration from the history of cinema – by Susan Brownrigg


Where do you get your ideas? For me the things I want to write about are the same things I was passionate about as a child.

I loved daytrips to Blackpool with my family when I was growing up, visiting Blackpool Tower, the Illuminations and its many other attractions. So, it felt right to set my 1930s Gracie Fairshaw mystery series there.

For the third book in the series, Gracie Fairshaw and the Missing Reel (published on World Book Day, March 7th) I decided to set the story around the filming of a movie in the resort.

I knew that another Gracie, Gracie Fields – the Rochdale born superstar singer and actress had made a film in Blackpool in 1934. In fact, I had watched and studied Sing as We Go as part of my degree in journalism, film & broadcasting as well as writing my dissertation on the actress!


Gracie Fields in a special issue of Picturegoer Magazine about Sing as We Go
(author's photograph)

I loved that the film was shot on location, with key scenes recorded at the Pleasurebeach funfair, the open-air baths, sideshows and the Blackpool Tower circus.


Basil Dean directing Sing as we Go at the open-air baths, Blackpool.

In my book, the cast and crew are recording a fictional thriller called Room for a Traitor, when my heroine, young newspaper reporter, Gracie Fairshaw, learns that an important reel of film has gone missing.

To add authenticity to the film-making scenes, I visited Blackpool Central Library and looked at old copies of the Gazette newspaper on microfiche (as I had with the previous two Gracie books.)

I was able to see the cameras that were used and was intrigued by the fact that Gracie had had a body double/stuntwoman. I went on to learn that Lilian Tollis had been a stage actress herself as well as a dancer, sometimes using the name Zetta Morenta.


Body double/Stunt woman Zetta Morenta had a close resemblance
 to actress Gracie Fields (photo Jackie Settle)

I knew I wanted to include a similar character in my story – but I didn’t know much about stunt work. So, I did more research, reading a number of books on the subject.

I learned that in the early days of moviemaking, the stars often performed their own stunts.

In the silent film era, directors, script writers and performers were often women.

Half of all American films made before 1925 were written by women!

Dramatic serials like the Perils of Pauline were very popular with their cliffhangers, and gutsy heroines.

The female stars often performed their own stunts, with many hired because they were strong swimmers, good at driving motorcars, or were skilled acrobats.

Sometimes stuntwomen were hired, and then became leads themselves, but as the work became better paid, men started to take over – wearing wigs and dresses to look like the stars.

It was said that most stunt workers only lasted five years. Lots were killed or badly injured. For example, in 1929, sixteen men were killed, including three stunt pilots making the film Hell’s Angels!

(Sadly, stunt work is still very dangerous. Actor Rory Kinnear, whose father died in a stunt accident, continues to campaign for better training and awareness of the dangers involved.)

With the introduction of sound, cinema attendance grew and the film making became big business – women were pushed aside, and only certain poorer paid roles were generally deemed suitable for them.

Although Hollywood is often the place we associate with film making, Britain had its own studios, most were in London, but there was a northern company - Mancunian Films based in Manchester who also shot a movie in Blackpool - Holidays with Pay.

In 1927 the Cinematograph Films Act was introduced which insisted that a specific percentage of British produced movies that had to be shown domestically. Unfortunately while some brilliant movies were produced, this led to a lot of poorer quality ones too, dubbed 'Quota Quickies.'


The former Odeon cinema, Blackpool.
It opened in 1939 and had 3,088 seats!
(author's photograph)

Unemployment in the 1930s saw people visiting the cinema as an escape from their worries. Many new cinemas were built, some in exotic architectural styles.

By 1938 there were 4,907 cinemas in the UK and around that same time Blackpool alone had 17! 

Inspiration for two more characters in my book came from a real-life director Alfred Hitchcock and editor/screenwriter Alma Reville. They were married and often worked together on exciting thrillers including the first British made ‘talkie’ Blackmail.

I also enjoyed setting scenes in Blackpool’s stunning Winter Gardens. This Victorian era entertainment complex went through a transformation in the 1930s. New rooms were created that looked like a Spanish village, a pirate ship and a baronial hall! These new designs were created by Andrew Mazzei, who also worked as an art director on British films!


The Spanish Hall, Winter Gardens (photograph Susan Brownrigg)

The climax of Gracie Fairshaw and the Missing Reel takes place on the roof of the Regent Cinema in Blackpool – which still exists today, as well as showing popular classic movies, it also houses an antiques centre. I was lucky to be allowed into the projection room - a real treat for a movie lover like me!


Susan Brownrigg in the projection room, The Regent Cinema,
 Blackpool ( author's photograph)


Lights, camera, action!

A new movie being filmed in Blackpool is a real scoop for trainee reporter Gracie Fairshaw.

When she's invited to interview the star, Sally Sunshine, Gracie uncovers a plot as exciting as the one being filmed. Someone has stolen a vital film reel - and then a vicious attack is attempted on Sally!

In a world of body-doubles, stunts, costumes and makeup, not everything is what it seems.
Gracie must go behind the scenes and work out, which of the cast and crew can;t be trusted before the shoot comes to a thrilling climax at the town's cinema.


Gracie Fairshaw and the Missing Reel is published on Thursday 7th March. You can preorder a signed copy HERE

Susan Brownrigg is the author of the Gracie Fairshaw mystery series and Kintana and the Captain's Curse, a treasure hunt adventure featuring pirates and lemurs!
(UCLan Publishing)

Find out more at susanbrownrigg.com


Thursday 25 November 2021

Food for thought! Using local delicacies as inspiration - by Susan Brownrigg

Food memories can be some of our most vivid - I’m a Lancashire lass – I grew up in Wigan. We were definitely a meat, potatoes and veg family and on a good day with afters (pudding) to finish. 

Of course, up north, lunch was called dinner, and five o’clock onwards was when we had tea – our main meal.

I remember fondly fried breakfasts, readybrek and chopped up egg in a cup at the start of the day. Lunch would be a butty, but if it was a Friday during the school holidays my dad would bring home fish and chips. He was a milkman so worked very early shifts! I was a real meat eater back then – so I’d cross my fingers and ask if I could have steak pudding and chips. I didn’t ever want anything of a kid’s menu and ‘babbiesyed’ as it’s known in Wigan was grown-up food. It won’t surprise you to know I was nicknamed the gannet!

Wigan dialect and food is celebrated in Jess Riley's station art work
- babbiesyed and peywet is steak pudding with pea juice!

I also recall the newspaper wrapping, though families would also queue up with pyrex dishes to take home their chippy tea.

Another treat was pie from Edwards Bakery – and better still if I could have it in a ‘barm cake’ – the Wigan name for a bread roll. Wiganers are known as pie-eaters, though the reason why is debated. While Lancashire Hot Pot with a suet crust was another favourite.


Butter pie

My first job was as a reporter on the Ormskirk Advertiser, a small market town in West Lancashire, only a stone’s throw from where I now live. Ormskirk is famous for it’s gingerbread – this sweet treat was made by women in the town since 1732!


Sweet treats

Town’s often have their own cake or desert – Manchester Tart, Bakewell Tart, Eccles Cakes and Chorley Cakes – are just a few northern examples.

When I write my stories, I love to include descriptions of food being eaten. In my Gracie Fairshaw series, set in Blackpool, the children devour hot chips outside, with the sea air proving the perfect accompaniment along with lashings of salt and vinegar! In Trouble at the Tower, Gracie enjoys a warm mince pie with cream in the glamourous setting of Blackpool Tower’s Oriental Lounge. While in Kintana and the Captain’s Curse, my heroine has to survive on weevily ship’s hard tack (a not very edible biscuit that pirates ate) and grog and misses the traditional Malagasy recipes her Pa cooks at the pet shop home.

Cook books and food history books and online blogs are a great way to explore what your character would eat, depending on where – and when - they are.

I’ve found some fantastically useful titles over the years, including while researching what people ate in 12th century Cambodia during the Khmer Empire, the Incas in Peru and the Congo at the beginning of the 20th century.


Useful books on food

It’s even better if you can try the foods for yourself – though you may need to watch your waistline!

Our tastebuds can transport us to other places and times – though there are some childhood snacks I wouldn’t want to try again – 1980s blackcurrant flavoured crisps being one!

(All photos: Susan Brownrigg)

ACTIVITY

It's time to go shopping! You are looking for foods that your character would eat - it could be sweets, something savoury or a dessert! Buy a couple that look interesting - but remember to check the ingredients if you have any allergies/dietary requirements!

Back home - find some paper and a pen or pencil. When you're ready, find a quiet spot to eat your food. Don't rush! Let the flavour fill your mouth, what is the texture like? How does the food make you feel? Is it a taste you like, or not?

Where would your character eat this food? At home? In a cafe? On a picnic?

Jot down these thoughts and try to form a scene from them. 

Is your character eating alone or are they with friends, family, an enemy?

Are they savouring every mouthful or in a rush? Mood can affect how we feel about what we eat too.

Perhaps you could create your own recipe using local produce! Think about what ingredients you would use and how it would be cooked. 

 

 

Author Susan Brownrigg

Susan Brownrigg is a Lancashire lass and the author of three historical children's books for ages 8+ - Gracie Fairshaw and the Mysterious Guest & Gracie Fairshaw and the Trouble at the Tower are seaside mysteries set in Blackpool. Kintana and the Captain's Curse is a pirate adventure set in Madagascar.

Susan's books are published by Uclan Publishing. They are available from bookshops and online retailers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday 14 October 2021

How music can help historical writers to create authentic worlds

My Gracie Fairshaw mystery series is set in the 1930s so I am always looking for ways to bring historical authenticity to my scenes. One of the ways I have found bring verisimilitude to my writing is through music.

In my new book Gracie Fairshaw and the Trouble at the Tower there were plenty opportunities to be inspired by music from the past. The story takes place in the Blackpool Tower – known then as The Wonderland of the World because of the many attractions it offered.

Blackpool Tower (author's photo)

There was the Tower Ascent (the lift that took you to the top of the tower), stunning roof gardens, a menagerie, ballroom, circus and aquarium as well as fabulous places to eat including the Oriental lounge. 

The Tower Ascent, ballroom and circus still exist, and if you look carefully on your next visit you might spot architectural details from the oriental lounge where the dino golf now is!

 

Evidence of the Oriental lounge still survives (author's photo)

Music was an important part of the Tower’s entertainment offer. Although I haven’t used it in a story yet, I am really interested in the Orchestrion – that used to be in the entrance to the aquarium. 

 

The Orchestrion (ThinkTank)

Orchestrions were mechanical organs, usually made by clockmakers – the one in the Tower was made by Imhof and Mukle in Germany in 1879. It was in a 13ft high wooden cabinet. The orchestrion was originally bought for £3,000! originally worked by pin cyclinders, like in a muscial box! After 35 years the machine was converted so it used Wurlitzer paper rolls. I'm sure Violet, from my Gracie books, would love working out how it operated!

The Orchestrion was removed from the tower and is now in storage at ThinkTank, Birmingham.

Orchestrion 10" record (Decca, 1958) (lp, author's collection)

Live music was also an important attraction in the Tower.

The Roof Gardens were used for dance band concerts – in the 1930s dance band music was incredibly popular – live broadcasts from hotels and the Tower could be heard on the radio and played at home on shellac 78s.

The Tower employed their own dance band leader – Bertini. He sounds Italian but he was actually a Londoner called Bert!

Bertini and the Radio Boys (postcard, author's collection)
 

The roof gardens, Blackpool Tower
 

I am lucky to have a lot of original dance bands 78s at home as well as some vinyl and CDs. I listened to these while writing my book and it definitely helps me get into the 1930s world. Bertini records are hard to find, I have one 78 and a CD – but I did find a postcard complete with a collection of band autographs on ebay – which was thrilling.

I also have some sheet music featuring Bertini – sheet music sold really well in the 1930s giving music lovers a chance to play the most popular songs at home on the piano. The sheets included the notes and lyrics and often had a photograph on the cover.

 

Bertini, The Touch of your Lips song sheet (author's collection.)

I wanted to include a dance band in Trouble at the Tower – so I created the character Fredini. I had great fun making up song titles for his band to perform.

Of course the music most associated with Blackpool Tower is the Wurlitzer. This fantastic white organ has been an attraction in the ballroom since 1929 - with the current organ being installed in1935. I couldn't resist including it in both Gracie Fairshaw books. I absolutely adore the sound!

Reg Dixon at the Wurlitzer

What you might not know, is that the Blackpool Tower ballroom was host to a professional children’s ballet between 1902 and 1972. The ballet was extremely popular with audiences - and some of the young dancers went on to stardom. 


The Blackpool Tower Children's Ballet

The most famous dancer was Little Emmie – real name Emma Tweesdale – she started dancing with the ballet when she was just 8 years old. She was nicknamed the La Petite Pavlova (after the famous ballerina Anna Pavlova.) 

 

Madame Pauline Rivers (left) and Little Emmie (postcard, author's collection)

She and the ballet’s director – Madame Pauline Rivers – also feature on sheet music and postcards. I discovered that Madame Rivers went on to adopt Emmie.


 Song sheets featuring Little Emmie

For Trouble at the Tower, I wanted to create my own Christmas ballet. In my book the ballet has been taken over by a new director – Madame Petrova – who is a former Russian ballerina. 

Gracie Fairshaw and the Trouble at the Tower (cover design Jenny Czerwonka)

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to ballet music by the famous Russian composer – Tchaikovsky, and because trouble at the Tower is set in Christmas 1935, I also enjoyed researching which Christmas songs and carols were popular in the 1930s.

My favourite piece which features in the show is Troika by Prokofiev Рalso known as the Sleigh Song. The song was composed as part of a soundtrack for a Russian film - Lieutenant Kij̩ - in 1934.

 

A traditional sleigh ride

It makes me feel so Christmassy when I hear it! It really helped to get me in the mood for writing my festive mystery!

I hope you have been encouraged to seek out some of the music I've mentioned and will have a listen yourself!

ACTIVITY

Find some paper and a pen or pencil. Turn on the radio and tune into a station you wouldn’t normally listen to that is playing music! 

Start to write any words or images that it makes you think of. If you struggle to imagine things copy down some of the lyrics – if there are any – and see if that suggests a story to you! Or perhaps if there are no lyrics you could make up some that seem to fit the music.

Discussion points for teachers/parents 

Music often reflects the tastes of people at any given time - what music is popular now? Is it different to the music enjoyed by your family when they were children? Why do you think different generations may not like the same time of music?

Music can make us feel happy or sad, it can even make us laugh! It has been used to lift people's spirits in times of war or when times were hard - such as during the depression of the 1930s. If you were to create and bury a time capsule containing objects from now for people to find in the future - what music would you include. 

There have been many different ways to listen to pre-recorded music such as wax cyclinders, 78s, vinyl records, 78s, CDs, minidiscs, MP3s and streaming. Some formats have had a revival in recent times.

How do you think people will listen to music in the future? Will there be nostalgia for old methods?


Author Susan Brownrigg

Gracie Fairshaw and the Trouble at the Tower by Susan Brownrigg is an historical novel for 9-12 year olds set in Blackpool, 1935.

Susan's books are published by Uclan Publishing. They are available from bookshops and online retailers.

 



Thursday 9 September 2021

How the Blackpool Illuminations proved a lightbulb moment for author Susan Brownrigg

  

Last Friday was the annual Blackpool Illuminations Switch-On. This year they event took place in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, with Strictly Come Dancing judge, Shirley Ballas turning on the ‘Lights.’

As a proud Lancastrian, I have happy memories of visiting the world-famous Illuminations. But I didn’t realise what a long and fascinating history they had!

When I discovered that in 1935, a fifteen-year-old girl had been invited to switch on the lights, I knew I had the spark for my debut children’s book, Gracie Fairshaw and the Mysterious Guest. 

Postcard (1930) showing Blackpool Illuminations and the Tower with light beam.
 

Nowadays, the Illuminations are spread over six miles of lights and stay on for four months rather than the traditional six weeks.

But they had a more humble beginning. Back in 1879 the corporation (council) paid the equivalent of £5000 for eight arc lamps along the seafront. These electric lights were so astounding that people christened the effect ‘artificial sunshine.’ Imagine how striking the lights must have been compared to the candlelight and oil lamps in people’s homes!

Electric light was then used to mark two special royal events in Blackpool - in 1897 they were added to five tram cars to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Then, in 1912, 10,000 lights were strung around the promenade to celebrate the town’s first ever royal visit when Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Louise, opened Princess Parade – a new section of the promenade. The attraction was so popular it was repeated the following September and would likely have been repeated annually but for the outbreak of World War 1.

The Illuminations returned in 1925, bigger and better than ever. As well as the traditional festoon, there were now ‘animated tableaux’ – pictures created out of lightbulbs (known as lamps) that when turned on and off in sequence gave the illusion of movement.

Blackpool Illuminations postcard, showing North Shore Gardens
 with festoon and fluted pylons.

The idea of a special guest turning on the Lights, didn’t happen until 1934. Lord Derby performed the honour in that year. But then, looking down the list of later hosts, which included many famous names, I saw a name I did not recognise: Audrey Mosson.

My research revealed that Audrey, was a 15-year-old girl from Blackpool. How had she come to turn on the lights, I wondered?

Blackpool's History Centre, in Central Library, provided the answer. They have back copies of the Lancashire Gazette on microfiche and I was able to use these old fashioned machines to turn back time to 1935!

Microfiche reader at The History Centre, Blackpool (author's photo)

The Gazette explained that the Mayor of Blackpool – Alderman George Whittaker – had been all set to perform the honour that year. But an appointment in his diary changed history.

Just days before the Switch-on he met the newly crowned Railway Queen - Miss Elsie 'Audrey' Mosson.

Alderman Whittaker told the Gazette: "Miss Mosson is a charming girl, with a frank and vivacious disposition - and I thought it would be very appropriate for this to be her first official duty as Queen."

Further research revealed that Audrey had recently been crowned Railway Queen in front of a crowd of thousands at Belle Vue, Manchester. She was a ‘Queen of Industry’ attending functions across the country (and even Russia!)

Inspired by May Queens, the first Railway Queen was chosen in 1925. Other industries followed suit – among them Cotton, Coal, Wool and Silk Queens being crowned.

I was curious as to what Audrey had looked like. But the Gazette only featured this cartoon image.

Audrey Mosson cartoon (Blackpool Gazette)

Fortunately I was able to track down a photograph of Audrey at the Switch-on online. When I saw her wonderful tiara - I knew my mystery plot would include a plan to try and steal this beautiful piece of jewellery. My main character - Gracie Fairshaw - would thave to foil the plot - and would call upon Audrey to help!

And I was even more thrilled when I learned that a Yorkshire museum was holding an exhibition about Queens of Industry. Imagine my delight when I was able to see Audrey's beautiful blue velvet gown with trail and gold tassels along with her chain of office and tiara in person!

 Audrey Mosson's gown and tiara at the Queens of Industry 
exhibition (author's photo.)

There is one extra nice fact I found out about Audrey and the Illuminations - she has actually been a Switch-on host twice! The only person to have that honour.
She was invited back in 1985, 50 years after her original duty, with actress Joanna Lumley.
 
Audrey Mosson (right) with Joanna Lumley at the Illuminations 
Switch-on in 1985. Her second time turning on the 
world-famous lights. (Blackpool Gazette)

 
Discussion points for teachers/parents :
 
Blackpool became especially popular with the creation of Wakes Weeks - unpaid holiday given to workers in industrial towns, especially in the north. Each town would have a different week, with the mills and factories in the town all closing at the same time. Many families chose to visit the seaside, and Blackpool was incredibly popular. 
 
Why do you think families wanted to get away to the coast, and what attractions could they look forward to? 
 
Do any of the attractions from the 1930s still exist in Blackpool today? Why are they still popular?
 
There have been 74 Switch-on hosts (there was no Switch-on during WW2) including politicians, ambassadors, royals, sporting stars, TV presenters, TV and film stars, comedians, disc jockeys, singers and bands.

Those invited to perform the Switch-on duty often reflects the times, for example in 1976 Miss United Kingdom, 1982 the Royal Navy Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward who played a leading role in the Falklands War and in 2020 a group of NHS heroes performed the duty.

Among the more unusual hosts were puppets - Kermit the Frog and the Muppets in 1979 and a horse – the triple Grand National Winning Red Rum in 1977.

Who would you choose to switch on the Illuminations in 2022? Why? What might go wrong and how could they save the day?

 
Gracie Fairshaw and the Mysterious Guest by Susan Brownrigg is an historical novel for 9-12 year olds set in Blackpool, 1935. A sequel, Gracie Fairshaw and the Trouble at the Tower (also featuring Audrey Mosson) is published October, 2021.

Susan's books are published by Uclan Publishing. They are available from bookshops and online retailers.
 
Susan Brownrigg (author's photo)

For more information about Susan's books visit susanbrownrigg.com
Follow Susan at @suebmuseum

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