Book: The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill
Exclusive interview with author Julie Klassen about her new novel, which is set at a Regency coaching inn
By Gabrielle Pantera
“The specific setting, a coaching inn in Wiltshire along the old London to Devonport Royal Mail route, was inspired by the many historic coaching inns I’ve visited in England,” says The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill author Julie Klassen.
“Their main function was to provide fresh horses, though they provided many other services as well. Coaching inns were restaurant, hotel, “Grand Central station,” travel agency, livery, and repair shop all rolled into one. I think it’s wonderful setting for a book, providing a backdrop for a cast of regulars who work in or frequent the inn, as well as new people traveling through to add interest…like royal mail guards and coachmen, traveling performers, aristocrats, and men, and sometimes women, of business.”
The book opens with widow Jane Bell becoming the owner of The Bell, a coaching inn situated in the village of Ivy Hill in Wiltshire. Jane does not know how to run the inn, her husband did that, so Jane needs to learn fast. Things get more complicated when it emerges that a loan is due on the inn, and Jane does not get along with Thora, her mother-in-law. The two will need to learn to work together to save the inn.
“I have wanted to write a village-based series for years,” says Klassen. “As an author of historical fiction and an Anglophile, I have loved several BBC series set in English villages…like Larkrise to Candleford, Cranford, and Middlemarch, as well as the Thrush Green series of books. I am drawn to their close-knit communities filled with unforgettable characters, the romances, family drama, and of course, the British accents. Now I hope readers will enjoy my first series, Tales from Ivy Hill, beginning with The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill.
Klassen loves to travel to England. “Twelve novels out of four trips. I think that’s a pretty good return on investment, at least that’s what I tell my husband. I’ve also become an active member of the Jane Austen Society of North America as a result of writing books set in Jane Austen’s era. This has lead to friendships and wonderful experiences, like learning English Country Dancing, and parading through the streets of Bath, England in Regency attire during the Jane Austen Festival there last September.”
For research, Klassen visited many old coaching inns in England. She also read books on the subject, including Historic Inns of England by Ted Bruning, The Romance of the Road by Cecil Aldin, Royal Mail Coaches by Frederick Wilkinson, and Stagecoach Travel by Louise Allen. “Several research books included images of original documents,” says Klassen, “including tally forms [bills] from coaching inns in the book Encyclopedia of Ephemera.”
Klassen has eleven published novels, all set in early 19th century England. Her books have won three Christy Awards, The Minnesota Book Award, and The Midwest Book Award. An option has been taken out on them, and one screenplay written, but a film adaptation has yet to be greenlit.
“One of the other interesting things I had not anticipated was my books being published in several languages,” says Klassen. “German, Dutch, Slovakian, French, and more. I love receiving emails from readers who live in distant countries and speak different languages. Thank goodness for Google Translate.”
Klassen is currently writing her next book in the Tales from Ivy Hill series, The Ladies of Ivy Cottage.
Klassen is based in St. Paul, Minnesota. She was born in Chicago, Illinois. You can find her online at talesfromivyhill.com and www.julieklassen.com. She is also on Twitter @Julie_Klassen and Facebook at facebook.com/AuthorJulieKlassen.
The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill (Tales From Ivy Hill) by Julie Klassen Series: Tales From Ivy Hill (Book 1) Paperback: 448 pages Publisher: Bethany House Publishers; Reprint edition (December 6, 2016) Language: English ISBN: 9780764218132 $14.99
