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 . . . .
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you enjoyed it, Joan
DeleteHow 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)
ReplyDeleteI also collect old maps. I have NYC 1900 I use a lot
DeleteThanks 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.
The Bay Area fog is spectacular, isn’t it?
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteYes, they got rid of that whole seedy waterfront. I always stayed with a friend in Peter Cooper village, a new development built after the war. Lovely East River view
DeleteThere’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.
ReplyDeleteOld houses in England often have gas fittings from pre electricity days! Good way to murder someone in a story!
DeleteThanks 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 wanted Sid and Gus to live in the Village. I poked around until I found Patchin Place then I thought it would be perfect if Molly lived there too some day
DeleteI 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.
I’ve driven around Dordogne and Martin’s village. Fabulous area
DeleteThis 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.
ReplyDeleteJefferson market building! It’s now a library and a very lively meeting spot in lower Manhattan… The West Village and The neighborhood where one of my closest relatives is now living… Thanks for the historical perspective!
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with the Jefferson Market the first time I saw it. So impressive.
DeleteThank you for the tour. I’m looking forward to reading VANISHED IN THE CROWD to see what Molly gets up to next ❤️📚
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it, Dorothy
DeleteSeeing the streets, houses and historic market building makes reading about Molly more accessible and interesting. Thanks Rhys for this post today!
ReplyDeleteThis is so lovely—and almost poignant. It makes her feel so real! Xx
ReplyDeleteI feel if I’m
DeleteWriting about a real time and place that everything has to be true, apart from my fictional characters
What an enchanting picture of New York! Thanks, Rhys!
ReplyDeleteI'm working on a series of cozies set in a fictional village in Cornwall. The village is based on a village on the southern coast my daughter and I used to visit and fell in love with when I was stationed at a base on the Salisbury plain many years ago. I'm torn about going back and seeing it now - what if it's changed out of our memories?
Not much changes in England (thank goodness!) so you're probably ok.
DeleteYears ago we had a lovely dinner with some English friends in London. He mentioned their house had been "remodeled" in the late 1800's.
Haha! Well-noted!
DeleteRobin, You must let us know when your book is out! I would love to read a cozi set in Cornwall.
DeleteI go to Cornwall every year. All the old fishing villages are unchanged apart from more houses built on the fringes.
DeleteThanks, Anon - can do!
DeleteThanks - so nice to hear, Rhys. I'll add Cornwall to my bucket list ;)
Rhys, thank you for the tour. How fun to see the real thing. I’m wondering about real places in fictional books. Does the writer take a chance on not getting sued or owner objection if something happens in their home - fictional something - like a murder? I’ve hesitated using real locations yet when I read a book set in real location, I enjoy it completely.
ReplyDeleteGood question. I’m always careful to make a place fictional if something bad happens there. A pub. A bakery. If it’s a well known monument then I can kill someone there!
DeletePaula, such a great question. If the book/author is quite well known - it might be an advantage. I remember watching the news awhile back and the house that the TV Partridge Family lived in was on national news - it may have sold at an increased value. Or it may attract people who are looky loos and cause the new owners a lot of annoyance.
ReplyDeleteRhys, the Molly Murphy books were my first experience with your work. So she remains a favorite of mine. Any time a new book comes out, I'm excited. As you might imagine, I am looking forward to VANISHED IN THE CROWD.
ReplyDeleteThis past week was the local library book sale and as luck would have it, I was able to snag two of the books I hadn't yet been able to get my hands on. In hardcover no less. One was a Molly Murphy and the other was one of the Her Royal Spyness books. The Snoopy Dance of Joy might have been performed in the relative isolation of my house when I got back from the sale.
As for the tour of Molly's New York, LOVE IT! I don't make a habit out of needing to see the places where a story is set but I do enjoy it when they pop up.
I love these, Rhys, especially having just read the new book!! And I love how how close Molly is to Sid and Gus. They could chat from their front doors!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful tour of Molly's New York City. I look forward to reading the new book.
ReplyDeleteYour Molly character shares similar characteristics as my great grandmother who happened to be named Molly. They look alike too. My great grandmother is the same lady who got her hair cut in the 1920s style, prompting my great grandfather (a clergyman) to say he could not bring her to church anymore.
Funny how what was once considered so radical in one generation becomes so commonplace in the next.
ReplyDeleteSuper fun especially for me as I'm in the middle of the new book. My own books take place in my hometown so I know a little about putting real places into a book. Do you ever add any "made" up places to real locales?
ReplyDeleteWhat a great tour. I've been a Molly fan from the first book. I love seeing sites in Molly's neighborhood. And how cool that Clare and Tim got a tour of Molly's house.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I'm so sorry you are worried about John's health. I hope it is improving. I'm sure he has reached such a good age thanks to your loving care.