A country house has been chosen as the setting for a new series of books by an award-winning author.
Ros Rendle has chosen Grimsthorpe Castle, near to her Bourne home, as the base for her latest works of historical fiction, Tapestry Tales.
Ros worked as a headteacher before moving into literature in retirement
The first book in the series, Mistress of the Manor, written under the pseudonym of Cara Clayton, was released at the end of July, blending fact with fiction.
It centres around a fictional family who live in a manor house and interact with factual characters.
There are knights, real battles, a misguided monk, a grasping uncle, and a young woman wanting greater freedom than her social status allows.
Mistress of the Manor is the first of a new series set at medieval Grimsthorpe Castle
Then comes the Great Mortality, or the Black Death as it’s now known.
Two further books in the series have been contracted – with the second due for release in December – which will feature successive generations of the fictional family, as well as major events of the period.
“I thoroughly enjoy the research and ensure my books are as accurate as possible,” said Ros.
“A fourth in this series is at the planning stage and I expect to return to my writing roots with the battles for the English in France, but this time with Joan of Arc.”
Grimsthorpe Castle.
Grimsthorpe is a very familiar setting for Ros and, particularly, husband Scott who is a room steward there and has helped provide fascinating facts and stories.
The couple also regularly visit its grounds to walk their guide dog for the blind puppy, in training, and also gather atmosphere and further inspiration.
Today’s castle was originally built during Tudor times, but Ros decided to set her stories during the Medieval period.
Scott, Ros and their guide dog in training regularly enjoy walks on the Grimsthorpe Estate
She explained that Grimsthorpe was then a much smaller castle, serving as a defensive outpost for Folkingham Castle, home to the very powerful and politically influential Beaumont family.
There was also a prominent abbey in the grounds back then, from which the present castle was built after Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries.
Ros did not turn to writing until relatively recently but several of her books have won readers’ awards or been Amazon bestsellers.
Retirement in France was the inspiration to start writing her debut novel
After taking early retirement from her career as a headteacher, Ros moved to France with Scott and lived in a small village among the First World War battlefields.
“I researched my ancestry through the war diaries at the National Archives at Kew and was able to walk in the footsteps of my grandad in the region of the Somme,” she said.
The experience sowed the seeds for her debut novel, Flowers of Flanders, the first in a series of three books about sisters, all set during 20th-century European conflicts.
Ros has also written contemporary novels
“The book found its way to a publisher who issued a contract for three further books,” she added.
“Writing then turned from a hobby to a longer-term commitment.”
More recently, a local ballroom and Latin dance school in Stamford was the inspiration for a more contemporary series of books.
“I love writing and don’t envisage giving up any time soon,” said Ros.
“I can take my laptop anywhere, and frequently do just that.”