Consequences: Consequences
Jean Day’s novel, Consequences, was inspired by the 1859 diary of Charles Simpson Walker, who lived in York.
Her wonderfully readable narrative weaves passages from this diary with the fictional diary of Mary Eagle, who was engaged to Charles.
Today Jean introduces her story, which will be serialised in Open Writing in 32 weekly episodes, commencing next Wednesday. Do watch out for it!
The time is January 1859 and the place is York. Mary Eagle who is 19 believes that her life could not be more perfect. At Christmas she became engaged to Charles Walker; a lifelong friend of her family, and someone she has dreamed of since she was a child. However, from the early days of their engagement circumstances begin to fall unfavourably.
On New Year’s evening, Mary attends the theatre with Charles, and he spends the night at her father’s Inn as he needs to be up early. She kindly takes him an early morning cup of tea to make sure he is prepared on time to catch the 6 a.m. train back to his home in Worcester, and they have an unplanned liaison. For the next two months Mary, who is not very sure of the symptoms of pregnancy, is worried that she might be with child, and doesn’t know how to cope with the problems and shame that would follow it if were to be true.
The story follows her thoughts and fears, plans and disappointments over the year. It also gives Charles’ view of each aspect of their lives, and his detailed itinerary of his own life.
Mary and Charles were real people who lived in the places mentioned. They married and had children. The actual unfolding of this story is fiction, but based on the real life diary of Charles Walker for 1851 and census records for 1851 and 1861 and the Births, Deaths and Marriages registers. An album of poetry from my husband’s family from 1834 and an undated early recipe book are also used, as well as other authentic family documents.
