From the outset, I wanted to write a story set in the past as an escape from modern life. I was keen to show something different to the typical Victorian life most children have heard about, and this was to be an uplifting story, full of hope and a sprinkling of magic.
I chose to write about a Victorian performer, but not an ordinary magician or singer like the ones that drew big crowds to the theatres and music halls of the 1800s. When researching, I came across an atmospheric photograph of a performer creating giant bubbles beside a moonlit lake, and Darlington the Miraculous evolved from there. He’s a showman offering a unique and captivating performance – a man of great presence and generosity, who’s not out to make money, but to make people’s lives better. Darlington is world famous for creating incredible bubbles of every imaginable shape, size and colour using his magical sceptre. At the end of each performance, he invites one lucky person on stage and puts their greatest wish inside a bubble, then sends it up to the stars. What an enticing idea this would surely have been to a poor Victorian child with very little hope of ever bettering their life. To make it even more enticing, the performances would be held in a magical manor house in the countryside, with free food and drink. But only the lucky few would be invited.
I had a lot of fun creating Darlington Manor, a beautiful country mansion filled with quirkiness. The labyrinth of unusual rooms is the perfect place to go on an adventure and solve a mystery. I’ve always been fascinated by interesting historical buildings. As a child, I went to various schools in old, creepy buildings that I was sure were haunted. These places had a huge impact on me and sparked my imagination. To my mind, the most exciting things always happen in strange old places dripping with atmosphere.
