Those are the beautiful letter seals of Lord Pitsligo, a man I have written about before:
- when I visited his castle
- when I searched for his cave
- and then on The Witch, The Weird and the Wonderful blog, where I wrote more fully about his life.
His forward thinking ways inspired aspects of the Laird in THE MERMAID AND THE BEAR, and a similar set of letter seals feature in FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE.
Letter Seals Quote from FIREFLIES:
Research
The seals were shown to me by a direct descendant of Lord Pitsligo while I was researching FIREFLIES. I got to hold them and turn them on their hinges, which was wonderfully informative and exciting. It was great to connect to the time of the book like that too.
The Book
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE was inspired by the kidnapped children and young people of Aberdeen. The story follows the adventures of Elizabeth Manteith from the castle, and her determined efforts to get back home. There’s love. There’s derring-dos on the high seas… And there’s chocolate!
See the publisher’s Press Release here
“Filled with excitement and suspense…” Historical Novel Society Editor’s Pick
Newsletter
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Congrats on the upcoming release! Very interesting photos of the seals.
Thank you 🙂
Your new book sounds thrilling. I love the details of the letter seals. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you like 🙂
Lord Pitsligo sounds very intriguing!
He was an interesting person.
Intriguing.
Your photographs are wonderful. Living in NZ for 50 years now and I still miss the historical depths that you writing reminds me of.
Judith
NZ looks a beautiful place too.
I look forward to April when your book will be out.
Thank you 🙂
Wow! Fascinating objects. Seals are so much harder to use than they look too.
Indeed.
Something about seals and wax-sealed letters that is so evocative, a lost elegance.
Yes, they were rather lovely.
VERY intriguing, Ailish! Be well 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Congratulations on the impending release of your book! Those seals look absolutely fascinating!
Thank you, and they were!
That’s so cool! Seals have fascinated me since I first discovered the concept. I didn’t know there were types that had multiple options, though!
They are really cool things 🙂
Hi Ailish, just wanted to say I downloaded the Mermaid and the Bear after reading this post, and just finished it – loved it! It was lovely to read such a sad beautiful but hopeful fairytale – thanks so much. You brought a part of history alive for me. I’m looking forward to Fireflies and Chocolate! X
This is really good to hear, thank you Nat 🙂
It’s so cool to see things that inspire writers! I have added The Mermaid and the bear to my reading list, and very much look forward to reading it.
I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Hi Aliish, I’m not really into reading novels, but ones written around events in history I do occasionally read. I downloaded your new book ‘Fireflies and Chocolate’ at the weekend, and must say it is a superb story masterly put together! What a lot of research you have put into it, to be honest I found it hard to put down! Now my wife is reading it! I would heartily recommend it. Thanks for a great read.
This is so lovely to hear, thank you! I do love that research 🙂
What a piece of history to treasure!
It was amazing to see.
I can imagine.
Real artifacts belonging to someone you researched. How thrilling that must have been. Bernie
It was rather wonderful.
Waxed seals have a sort of charm, nostalgia perhaps.
They are quite beautiful.