RHYS BOWEN: Since this week is celebrating the publication of VANISHED IN THE CROWD, the 22nd Molly Murphy novel, I thought I'd share some Molly pictures with you. One of the things fans like about this series is that it involves real time, real place. When I first started the series I went to New York and chose a home for my heroine. It is on Patchin Place and still exists, unchanged. A few years ago a man emailed me to say he was now living in Molly's house and sent me pictures. When Clare and Tim were in New York last year they met him and he invited them inside for a tour.
When I was writing the first books and my knowledge of New York was limited to tourist areas I went there for every book and walked any streets that Molly would walk. What would she hear, smell, see? Now I know her part of New York well enough that I could give a guided tour. I said this jokingly once to the Minotaur publicist. Her eyes lit up. "Molly walking tour of New York???" Not really, I said hastily.
The nice thing is that most of Molly's New York is still there, hardly changed. You can still walk up Mulberry Street, see the Jefferson Market building, cross the Brooklyn Bridge. Over the years I have taken plenty of pictures and I'm going to share some now. This is Patchin Place.
This is the last working gas lamp in New York City. It's in Patchin Place.
Molly's house on the right. And some typical houses from the neighborhood. Molly lived briefly in a fancy house like this on Fifth Avenue.
I hope you've enjoyed this little tour. Next time you go to New York check out Molly's old haunts!
What a delightful tour . . . thanks for sharing this with us, Rhys; it's a lovely treat to see Molly's New York . . . .
ReplyDeleteHow lovely, Rhys. I had no idea such little byways were still preserved in New York City, and I enjoyed your photo tour. The NYC I write about is that of the Revolutionary War period and virtually nothing is left. I collect (digitally) old maps, paintings, and engravings. (Selden)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pictorial tour!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to drop by Patchin Place when I was briefly in New York two years ago, but it was 99 degrees and I stayed in the AC instead!
ReplyDeleteI always want to spend time in the locations I'm writing about. You see and smell things you could never pick up from a Google search or even reading about the place. When I was staying at my uncle's place in the hills of Alexander Valley, I saw a morning fog rise up and nearly fill the valley, leaving only a few peaks sticking up from it. It was stunning, and I could (and did) use it in my book.
I love the photos from Molly's neighborhood. My grandmother lived near the GWBridge in Manhattan when I was small and occasionally I will recall visuals from that time. I believe that area is completely changed, she left when her building was going to be torn down, but I have never been back. I would go to NYC for a Molly Murphy tour.
ReplyDeleteThere’s still a working gas lamp? That is fantastic! Our 1924 house had gas piping stubs in some rooms, along with the knob and tube electrical wiring. I always wondered if it was dual lighting for a while, or if it started construction for gas, then switched partway through to the new-fangled electricity.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rhys! How wonderful to "walk" us through Molly's neighborhood and explain your thoughts that went into creating the story.
ReplyDeleteRhys, thank you for the photos. Seeing how close the houses are set to the street, with no grand stairs for entering the house, explains how cozy the neighbors could be, talking across from each other. That is really a narrow street, and with so few houses everyone would know every neighbor.
ReplyDeleteHow did you choose that street as Molly's home? Just finding that gem in the first place had to be like stumbling over the proverbial needle in a haystack. New York is a big place!
And how fun for that reader to realize he was living in Molly's house. Would Hank consider that "meta", I wonder? It's pretty cool, regardless.
I like when the author stays true to the location the protagonist lives in, especially if I am familiar with the area. Martin Walker's mysteries with Bruno the Chief of Police is set in the Perigord Region of the Dordonge. This area is famous for its food, including truffles, wines, and foie gras, which are central to the stories. Walker has written a beautiful cookbook with fabulous photos of the region.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interesting to hear about how the other JRW settled on the locations for their books.
This brings to mind so many famous books that have famous addresses such as Sherlock Holmes' address at 221b Baker Street, and one of my favorites is Paddington named after the station where he was tagged Please Look After This Bear and taken to the Brown's house in the Notting Hill area.
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