INTERVIEW: Nancy Jardine and her Silver Sampler Series

1brookallen
1 day ago
7 min read

Many times in the past, I've mentioned how amazed I am at the comaradarie between authors. I think that 90% of the authors I've had contact with have been friendly, supportive, enthusiastic, and generous to a fault.

Six years ago, when I published my debut, a young woman from the UK contacted me. Her name is MaryAnne Yarde. She invited me to join an online author support group she had founded called the Coffeepot Book Club. In those six years, I have met a global handful of phenomenally talented writers at "the Coffeepot". I have even met two of them face to face! We come from all walks of life and many different countries, including the UK (also Scotland & Ireland), France, Australia, Germany, and of course the US.

Today, I have the pleasure of hosting one of those authors (who I've not met personally--YET!) Nancy Jardine is also a Roman history writer, though her most recent work is from an entirely different period. She was kind enough to offer up an interview, and I think that you'll find her work fascinating. Be sure to scroll on down, so that you're able to learn more about her newest novel: TAILORED TRUTHS.

And, READ ON, everyone!

AN INTERVIEW WITH NANCY JARDINE

Welcome to Brook’s Journal, Nancy! Your titles range from Roman Britain to the late 19^th century. How difficult was it to move forward sixteen hundred years or so and get grounded to write Victorian novels?

That’s a wonderful question! The ‘long’ answer goes back to when I retired from primary teaching in 2011. I mainly taught 11-12 year olds and typical ‘historical’ themes for that age in my home area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, were The Victorian Era, World War II, and nudging in was the ‘1960s/1970s’. At that time, all subject areas taught by me were planned to align as much as possible with the historical topic for a whole term of approx. ten weeks. (Lessons e.g. Victorian Music; using Victorian currency in math; Victorian Pre-Raphaelite Artwork; Literature of the era inspiring our writing lessons etc.) I loved teaching the Victorian era.

I also taught ‘Celts and Romans’ as the subject title, at times. One particular term topic was stunningly memorable, mainly because a team of archaeologists were excavating the field behind the Victorian built school I was working in, prior to a brand new school being erected for us. The field area was long known to have been part of an Agricolan Roman Temporary Camp, so it was incredibly exciting for the class to be allowed access to the dig sites and get regular feedback from the archaeologists.

I tossed a coin on retirement over which era to start with – Roman or Victorian – and the Roman era won. The decision was also influenced by the fact that I live across from that Roman Temporary Camp Site and the concept that ten thousand Roman soldiers had tramped across my garden was stimulating!

I had a reasonable background knowledge but it wasn’t nearly enough to write with the authenticity I want to create in my novels. Research, thankfully, is something that I relish undertaking!

Similarly, when I began my current Victorian saga I constantly reminded myself that I couldn’t assume anything. Research is the key to authentic setting and credibility.

What is it about the Victorian era that drew you in?

So many darker aspects to the era are balanced out by the entrepreneurial and technological advances that happened at great speed during the Victorian period. Something that seems so normal to me in 2025, like drinking tasty Scottish water from a tap (faucet), wasn’t possible for my character. Putrid, infection-ridden, public wells were the main water source in Dundee, Scotland, (the setting of the bulk of Tailored Truths), the water sources contaminated by nearby industries and local slaughterhouses. Piped in water supplies to Dundee tenement buildings (apartments) wasn’t common till more like the 1870s, so easily accessed water for personal cleansing, for domestic cleaning, or for cooking was a trial for my character in the 1850s.

Finding that Dundee actually had Public Baths (accessed via individual private cubicles) and Public Laundry facilities from 1848 was a revelation. Describing bathtime rituals for my Margaret Law became a delight!

That’s just one example of the many findings of my research that clarifies how it was!

Tell me a bit about these new Victorians. What running theme do you have going through each one and why?

The Series is called the Silver Sampler Series. In Book 1, Novice Threads, my main character Margaret is taught to sew at a very young age by her mother, her father being the owner of a drapery shop. Margaret’s aspiration is to become a school teacher but for financial reasons, she has to leave school at twelve years old and get a job. Margaret’s first post is as a private tutor to a little girl in Edinburgh who cannot attend school, an accident having robbed Rachel of being able to walk. One of Margaret’s teaching tasks is to assist Rachel in sewing and embroidery. The little girl painstakingly manages to create a complicated sampler before her early death at the tender age of nine.

The ’sewing’ theme continues in Tailored Truths, Book 2, when Margaret cannot get teaching or tutoring jobs and has to rely on her excellent sewing skills to earn her living. When she meets and marries Sandy Watson, a tailor to trade, she is embroiled in a different end product of sewing.

In Book 3 (yet to be named), Margaret will find herself involved in some interesting tangles, her sewing skills to the fore again for yet different final applications. But since that part isn’t yet written, and is currently in my head, I’ll say no more!

Could you please reveal some details about young Margaret Law and what her inward struggles are in this upcoming book?

At the outset of Book 2, Tailored Truths, Margaret Law is very skeptical of adult relationships. An only child, she’s grown up not understanding why her father and mother are so cold and sparing of love towards her. Only at the end of Book 1, when she is sixteen, does she understand the extent of the detachment her parents have lived under. In Edinburgh, Margaret has also lived in a dysfunctional household where her mistress has been neglectful of her disabled child (Rachel) preferring to be in thrall to a bottle of laudanum. Adults haven’t demonstrated sound relationships, so Margaret is extremely wary about making commitments to anyone, the exception being her childhood-friend Jessie whose own story is a convoluted tangle. Jessie, born out of wedlock, has been employed as a kitchen skivvy in the Edinburgh house before Margaret arrives and it’s only as they stop working there that the connection to Jessie’s biological father is revealed.

In Book 2, Tangled Truths, which covers Margaret’s life from age sixteen to twenty-eight she is happier being self-reliant, even though life is often so tough to endure. The concept of depending on a man doesn’t come naturally to Margaret, so when overwhelmed by an immediate attraction to Sandy Watson at the age of twenty-six, it’s a shock to her system. Furthering the relationship into intimacy is quite a revelation for her.

True happiness is sought by Margaret, yet the results of seeking it is marred by factors she cannot control. She’s an inwardly tough character, though. She takes what life throws at her and makes the best of it.

How many installments do you visualize in your Silver Sampler Series?

The plan is to have a three-book series covering Margaret Law’s lifetime. I can, however, tentatively see that I might want to have some companion novels (maybe novellas?) about other characters who are introduced in Book 3!

What other historical periods might you craft a novel in, do you think

Another fabulous question. I have a hankering to set future novels in the Pictish Era in north-east Scotland. Early historians tended to place the Pictish Era in the mysterious ‘Dark Ages’, the timescale from maybe the 600s to the 900s. Very recent archaeology is shifting the boundaries to more like the early 400s to the 900s, which is very exciting! To date, there’s no attested evidence of Roman presence in north-east Scotland after the Severan invasions of around the early 3^rd Century, but it begs the question about what influence the Roman incursions had on the emerging Pictish society.

Please share a little about what Nancy Jardine enjoys doing on a day off from writing.

Ha! Do we retiree writers have that? When not writing, or promoting my novels, I spend a lot of time in my sizeable garden. It’s less than a half-acre but it takes time and energy and I love being out and doing ‘stuff’. As well as decorative plantings, I grow vegetables in plots and more tender tomatoes, cucumbers and capsicums in my polytunnel.

It's convenient that my older daughter and her family live next door, their house built on what was originally my huge fruit and veg garden (sigh of relief here because tending that bit was getting to be too much) The upside is that I see my grandkids pretty much every day at some point which is a joy! And they love to eat my homegrown fruit and veggies.

Thank you for hosting me Brook, it’s much appreciated!

ALL ABOUT THE BOOK

An engrossing Victorian Scotland Saga (Silver Sampler Series Book 2)

Is self-supporting success enough for Margaret Law or will her future also include an adoring husband and children? She might secretly yearn for that though how can she avoid a repeat of relationship deceptions that disenchanted her so much during her teenage years?

Employment as a lady’s maid, and then as a private tutor in Liverpool in the 1860s bring thrilling opportunities Margaret could never have envisaged. Though when those posts end, her educational aspirations must be shelved again. Reliance on her sewing skills is paramount for survival when she returns to Dundee.

Meeting Sandy Watson means love, marriage and starting a family - though not necessarily in that order – are a striking development though it entails a move north to Peterhead. Yet, how can Margaret shed her fear of commitment and her independence and take the plunge?

Jessie, her sister-at-heart, is settled in Glasgow. Frequent letters are a life-line between them but when it all goes horribly wrong, the contents of Margaret’s correspondence don’t necessarily mirror her awful day-to-day realities.

ALL ABOUT NANCY

Nancy Jardine writes historical adventure fiction, historical saga, time travel historical adventure and contemporary mysteries. Research, grandchildren, gardening fill up her day in the castle country of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, when not writing or promoting her writing. Interacting with readers is a joy at Book and Craft Fairs where she signs/sells paperback versions of her novels. She enjoys giving author presentations on her books and on Ancient Roman Scotland.

Memberships include: Historical Novel Society; Scottish Association of Writers, Federation of Writers Scotland, Romantic Novelists’ Association and the Alliance of Independent Authors. She’s self-published with Ocelot Press.

CONNECT WITH NANCY

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads

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