Tomorrow Brings Sorrow, though a stand-alone book, is the third in the Breckton series, which consists of: To Catch a Dream, An Unbreakable Bond, Tomorrow Brings Sorrow and Time Passes Time.
The use of the term ‘Mongol’
In order to retain the authenticity of the dialect from the era in which the characters in the book lived, I used the term ‘Mongol’ to describe a Down’s syndrome child. This term is now considered inappropriate, and of course I agree that it no longer is. However, the cause of a child being born with Down’s syndrome wasn’t then known and the medical profession termed such children as being Mongoloid, as they were thought to resemble Mongolians. Lay people picked up on the term and shortened it to Mongol. It was rarely used then as a derogatory address.
Then, as today, the loving nature of Down’s syndrome children assured that they were accepted and loved. But, as today, there were the bigoted, ignorant and discriminatory people who did call names and make anyone who was in the minority feel less of a person.
By showing how things were in the days of this story and in the interests of authenticity, I have no intention of offending, and only wish to accurately reflect how my characters would have spoken.
Research
The research for this epic story of two sets of families – the rich and powerful Harvey and Crompton families, and the working-class Armitage and Fellam families – has centred around the coal-mining industry, workhouse life, the deep recession of the 1920s, stud farming and land management, the running of a country mansion, the ins and outs of being apprentice seamstresses and the running of a dressmaking business, culminating in this novel in how lives changed during the Second World War, with young people becoming Land Girls, special agents, pilots and naval officers.
Though mainly set in and around Leeds and York, and in the fictional town of Breckton (which, in my imagination, nestles somewhere between these two cities), the story also takes the reader to London, Ireland, Scotland, France and Poland – all of which I visited in search of atmosphere and the facts I needed. Switzerland also features, and I would love to have visited there too, but in the end I relied on my imagination, fed by the many beautiful pictures I had seen and my favourite childhood story, which I read and saw on television: Heidi by Johanna Spyri.
My research also took me to Caphouse Colliery near Wakefield, an experience that was both enlightening and terrifying, as the rickety cage that I boarded descended into the bowels of the earth. It not only helped me to write about the conditions endured by the workforce – from young boys of twelve to men in their sixties – but also gave me the rare find of a real-life, late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century woman of power, Emma Lister Kaye, owner of the colliery, on whom I was able to base my rich and powerful character, Laura Harvey.
It was Eden Camp, near Old Malton, Yorkshire, that saturated me with different aspects of wartime life. It is a wonderful project, set in what was a camp for prisoners-of-war. Each hut walks you through a different experience of life during the Second World War, from the home front to the front line – you see, hear and feel the war.
I have scoured Leeds and York, and the surrounding countryside, to find the right mansions, old croft houses, mental institution and workhouse buildings that would fit my needs and become the background for the powerful story I wanted to tell.
Despite all this, I still had gaps in my information and needed help to trawl for little-known facts. These gaps were plugged by my own family, whose various careers and interests were a source of great knowledge, giving even greater depth to my work. They all have a special mention in the Acknowledgements.
I hope you have enjoyed the book and go on to read (or may already have done so) the rest in the series. Thank you.
You can find out more about me, and my books, at: www.panmacmillan.com/authors/mary-wood. And you can interact with me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Historical Novels; follow me on Twitter @Authormary; or visit my website www.authormarywood.com, where you will find all my work and will be able to read the first chapters, and much more.
I look forward to hearing from you all, and to welcoming you as my friends.