Julie Klassen

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The Painter’s Daughter

I first visited Lynton and Lynmouth, twin villages in North Devon, when I was working on Lady Maybe, a book that required a cliff-side setting. I traveled there with an old friend and we fell in love with the dramatic coastal landscape within Exmoor National Park—also the setting of the novel Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore. We enjoyed the scenic harbor town of Lynmouth and stayed in the wonderful Castle Hill Guest House in Lynton, perched on the hill above. We hiked out to the majestic Valley of Rocks and Castle Rock on a narrow path overlooking sun-streaked water far below. While there, we learned that the area was a favorite among poets and artists in the nineteenth century (and probably to this day), and I knew I had found the perfect place to set the opening scenes of The Painter’s Daughter.

The second setting of the book is fictional “Overtree Hall,” which I based loosely on stately Chastleton House (with its secret room) in Oxfordshire. I also “borrowed” the stone-mask-squints we saw at Great Chalfield Manor in Wiltshire.

More Photos of Lynton and Lynmouth

  • Twin villages
    Twin villages
  • Harbor at low tide
    Harbor at low tide
  • Lynmouth
    Lynmouth
  • Keith meeting place
    Keith meeting place
  • Mavis Inspiration
    Mavis Inspiration
  • Guest House
    Guest House
  • Path to Castle Rock
    Path to Castle Rock
  • View from path
    View from path
  • Enjoying the view
    Enjoying the view
  • Yellow gorse
    Yellow gorse
  • Wild Exmoor Ponies
    Wild Exmoor Ponies
  • Poets and Artists
    Poets and Artists

 

Additional Photos from Research for The Painter’s Daughter

Photos of Overtree Hall (aka Chastleton House)

Photos of Masks/Squints (from Great Chalfield Manor)

 

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