Author’s Note
In 1809 a woman named Mary Bateman was tried and hanged for witchcraft in Yorkshire, so Nell is right to be scared of being labeled a witch.
A number of cities in England had great fires during their history. Exeter didn’t, but it had many smaller fires and was known as the “fiery city” during the 1800s.
A remarkable system of medieval tunnels exist beneath the oldest part of Exeter. The tunnels were used to carry water pipes into the city and were sometimes referred to as “the damps.”
I didn’t make up pattes d’araignées, honestly! The French phrases that Mordecai uses all come from the Dictionnaire Érotique Moderne, by Alfred Delvau, which was published in the 1800s.
Coombe Regis doesn’t exist, but if you visit Ladram Bay on the Devon coast, you’ll see the red cliffs an
