This weekend I spent some time over in the county of Wiltshire. What a beautiful county, with plenty of rolling green hills and sun-kissed hay wheels (only to be followed quickly by hours of persistent rain...). All of this has provided plenty of inspiration for writers over the years.
Being prehistoric, it's not surprising that Stonehenge has appeared in literature across history, starting off with the Legend of King Arthur. Merlin was called upon to make a memorial for Arthur's uncle, Ambrosius, who, amongst others, was killed on the Night of the Long Knives. Merlin first came across the stones in Ireland. Known as the Giant's Dance, they were a circle of stones that were believed to give water healing powers. Eventually, Merlin miraculously floated these huge stones on rafts across to England and positioned them in the place where they now stand. Hundreds of years later, Thomas Hardy revisited the stones and used the resplendent setting at the end of his novel, Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Anyone who has read or seen its adaptation will remember well the scene when Tess and Angel stumble across Stonehenge. I won't go any further in terms of the story as would not want to ruin it for anyone who doesn't know, but the scene is as great as its impressive prehistoric setting.
Although the 2008 film was shot at Castle Howard in Yorkshire, it is thought that Brideshead Revisited was set in a large house amongst the county's lush hills, "when the ditches were creamy with meadow-sweet and the air heavy with all the scents of summer".
I'll end there, leaving you with that quote that has me dreaming of summer!
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