A New Book by Rochelle Jones
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Emma and Me is now availables
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eBay
About the Author
Rochelle Jones was born in Los
Angeles, she moved to England
and lived for many years in
Cheshire before moving to
Cornwall
To find out more click on the photo
A new Book by Rochelle Jones, the book in now available from Amazon and ebay:
Frances is taken on holiday by her brother, Ted, to a hotel in the country after suffering from exhaustion so that she can unwind and get away from all the things that have been causing her stress. But it is not the relaxing atmosphere of the hotel that stands out for Frances on her holiday, with its scenic locations and the people she meets there. Instead she finds herself immersed in the most curiously lifelike dreams that she can ever remember. There seems to be something about the hotel which sets off the dreams. The dreams are so real that Frances finds her herself hovering between the reality of waking life and the reality of the dreams. In the dreams Frances finds that she is living the life of someone who has a historical connection with the hotel, and this life led in dream lasts not moments or even days as one would expect in a dream, but she finds that she is living what seems to be a complete lifetime, so much so that her times awake in at the hotel are but momentary visits away from her life in the dream. Even her brother seems like a distant relation when she awakes. Through these dreams Frances comes to know the life of a girl known as Eme or Amy Lyon as she goes and through life and all its trials of a woman from an impoverished background in the 18th century.
Frances believes that she is living a contented life, thinking that she had got over the disruption left after the breakup of her marriage, caused partly by the desolation left after the loss of her unborn child. Now her life is much quieter and she has little ambition to strive for better things as she had once set out for herself. With her small flat and low paid job, and with her routine in life, she is convinced that she has all she now desires in life. However, Ted, her brother, believes that she can do much better in life, as she had once done. He arranges for her to take a second job back in journalism, the career she had originally set out for herself. But Frances finds that her contented life may be more fragile than she realised and soon finds stress and exhaustion leaves her incapable of working. To try and help her recover and get back to work, Ted takes Frances on a two-week break at a hotel out in the country - where she can escape her worries and think about her future. Even as they drive up to the hotel Frances has a curious feeling about the hotel, an old building that dates back many centuries.
On arriving at the hotel Frances feels that the hotel has a welcoming, almost familiar, feel to it. She is given the Lady Hamilton room, named after the mistress of the well-known naval hero, Lord Nelson, and who are believed to have stayed at the hotel at one time. Frances herself knows very little of Lady Hamilton, she had never taken much interest in history. she finds there is even a portrait of Lady Hamilton hanging prominently in the room, but this, curiously, is annoying to her. Her brother, somewhat amused about her annoyance, suggest she put herself in the Lady Hamilton's shoes and maybe she would not be so critical of her. Maybe it was this conversation, or the portrait in the room, or indeed the room itself, but, on the first night of her stay at the hotel, Frances finds herself in a dream that transports her to a life in the past. In this dream she finds that she is a young girl growing up in a collier village. When she awakens after what seems like months later, Frances has a strong sense that the life led in her dream was that of the very same Lady Hamilton, despite there being no actual reference to her by name in the dream. The long length of this dream seems to leave Frances disconnected with reality; indeed, she feels completely disorientated as though she were still in the dream, the presence of that other life is with her constantly and it seems that reality and dream are blurring together. Frances decides it must be a symptom of her exhaustion that is causing her the difficulty to separate dream from reality. Assuming that another good night's sleep should solve the feeling of disconnection, she hopes to put the curiously real dream behind her. At first Frances thinks her belief is right after some uneventful nights, but then, unexpectedly, Frances finds herself back in the same dream life, continuing almost from when she had departed the dream earlier. Completely enveloped in this life lived in the past, months turn to years, as she lives the life a young girl called Emy, growing up in some distant time.
And we follow Frances as she finds herself living another life in dreams that seem to take on a reality of their own, and their intensity all but take over her life during her stay at the hotel. For this is also the story of the adventures the girl in her dreams, called Amy - born in a past age where she lives in poverty. This story follows her adventures as first she must chase opportunities to escape her lowly rural life, and then the ups and downs as she tries to build a better life for herself as she grows.
The dreams seem so life like that Frances cannot believe they are only dreams as about another life in a past world so real. She follows Amy's life of adventure as she first seeks escapes from her life in a rural village, in an age when those born at the bottom of the social pile had few opportunities or rights and with little hope of breaking out of that poverty. Forced into a life of domestic service and drudgery, her thoughts are only of escaping to a life of glamour and wealth. We follow her as she seizes an opportunity that takes her to London, the city she believes to be paved with streets of gold. With travel fare and a working position waiting for her in London, thanks to her mother's lover, Amy sets of alone, still little more than a child, on the long road from Chester to London, taking passage on goods wagons. With little more than hopes and dreams of making good, Amy can but wonder what she would find when she got to the big city so far away, famed for its royal palaces, wealth and glamour. Once there, however, she would first have find her employer who would provide her with a roof over her head, food to live and a means to stay in London.
When Frances awakens from what seems to be reality as Amy, and realises that her life as Amy was in fact an unusually long and realistic dream, it seems impossible to her that all the experiences she has been living through were nothing more than just that, a dream. So real had Amy's life been that Frances is completely disorientated when she wakes, convinced that she is still Amy. She can remember every detail of the dream - as if it were real with real memories. How could so much have happened in a night's dream? For reasons unknown to her, she is convinced it is the figure in the portrait, that annoying portrait of Lady Hamilton, that has brought on these dreams in which her own identity seems to be being lost.
And the dreams haunt her waking moments. Everywhere she goes she sees the people she met in the dreams, everything she sees, and everything she does, remind her of the people she has met in the dreams.
If Frances thought that the dream she had experienced on that first night at the hotel was to be a one off, she would soon find that this was in fact the first of many such dreams during her stay there. Each time Frances thought that the dreams must finish, unexpectedly she would find herself again as Eme, and the adventure continues as Amy grows into adulthood and finds new opportunities that bring her own dreams of wealth and status within her grasp, for she found that she was beautiful and all the world desired her. But there would be many set backs on the road to her dreams, and there would be many hardships as Amy's first years in London see her go from domestic service and theatre wardrobe maid to artist's curiosity and even fruit seller. The hardships are frightening and Eme fears at times that she will end up working the streets as many others in her situation have. And then one day she enters the 'Temple of Health' run by a curious quack called Doctor Graham, and a different world open's up for Amy, a chance to show herself off and get noticed: New opportunities that she seizes.
Finding it difficult to believe that the life of Amy exists only in dream, Frances feels caught between two realities, and increasingly they seem to be blurring together. As the story unfolds, when in waking life, Frances finds the world in dream seeping through into reality. Her brother, Ted, increasingly finds Frances' behaviour puzzling, and puts it down to her break down from stress. He can only assume that she must have been more effected than was first thought? Frances tells Ted of her dreams when she is left confused and lost after one such dream. She finds it impossible to accept that she is back in her hotel room after living for years as Amy. Ted seems almost a stranger to her, such was the length of time that the dream had spanned. Ted, convinced that the dreams are still only dreams no matter how real they seemed, can only assume they have become as intense as they have because of Frances' exhaustion, and her need to rest. Frances is sure that she is being manipulated somehow by the figure in the portrait - an apparition that had become connected to it perhaps? She felt sure that there was a presence in the room, something about it was affecting her mood.
Each time Frances wakes and is wrenched from the dream of Amy, who in later dreams becomes known as Emily, she is sure that it will be the last dream. Yet the dreams continue and quite suddenly Emily finds herself thrust into the presence of the most exclusive echelons of society as one of Madam Kelly's ladies at Arlington House. Here she meets a spendthrift wastrel aristocrat called Sir Harry Fetherstonhaugh, and they immediately become infatuated with each other. Soon she becomes his mistress on loan from Madam Kelly's house. At last Emily has achieved her dream, a set place in society, where she could perform and show off, live in the lap of luxury with the love of a great aristocrat. Being a thing of beauty and desired by all, Sir Harry flaunts Emily before his aristocratic friends shamelessly, and Emily thrives in the adulation, she thought herself secure and set up for life... Only she was not. On discovering that she was pregnant Sir Harry abandons her.
Almost penniless, once again Emily was danger of becoming homeless and out on the street - Emily turns to the one man who will shows genuine interest in her despite being with child; Charles Greville. Where Sir Harry had flaunted Emily in his grand estate, Greville hides Emily away with her mother in a modest cottage. Being a conservative man of modest means, he wanted the beautiful Emily Lyon (sometimes now calling herself Emily Harting for polite society), but not the reputation of an infamous lady from Madam Kelly's; a new identity was required - and Emily Lyon becomes Mrs Emma Hart. As well as losing her identity Emily must also give up her baby if she is going to gain the security and protection that she needs from Greville. Knowing she has little choice; Emma gives her baby up to the care of her grandmother in Flintshire, to be eventually adopted away.
Life was much quieter for Emma with Greville, he only wanted to show her off to his select few friends - and in portraiture; Greville introduces Emily to his good friend and well-known painter, George Romney. Romney is looking for a muse, and Emma is looking for notoriety whilst shut away in a cottage as Greville's mistress. Romney is delighted to paint Emma, and the two become fast friends. Romney has his muse and Emma has a means of making her image of beauty known to the good and the great of London society. And so, Romney paints a portrait of Emma and calls it Emma as Nature. Emma, having posed for the portrait, is keen to see it, expecting to see herself posing as Circe, with wand in hand. But instead she sees a different portrait. It is the annoying portrait hanging in the hotel room. Frances wakes in distressed confusion - how can it be!
Frances explains her dream to Ted and she notices that the portrait also has the name Emma on the name plate. For Ted this seems to be proof that the dreams must surely just be a remembrance of seeing the name plate, and as often is the way, something noticed during the day repeated in the dreams. Frances is not convinced.
And sure enough, the dreams continue later. And Emma is Greville's mistress and Romney's muse for a number of years, but Greville's wish to marry into money soon changes his needs and he decides to send Emma and her mother to his uncle, Sir William Hamilton, in Naples, pretending they are going there for a holiday. Emma has already met Sir William in London and the two had got on very well. Initially Emma feels that she is being swept off her feet by the attention that Sir William is paying her when she arrives at the envoy's residence at the Palazzo Sessa, just as he had in London. But as the weeks go by, Emma becomes concerned by Greville's delay in arriving. When Sir William confirms her worst fears, that Greville had never mentioned any intention of going to Naples himself Emma is devastated, realising again she has been abandoned to her fate. However, Sir William is quite infatuated with Emma and wants her to stay with him. Emma quickly realises that life with Sir William is actually more to her advantage than life with Greville, Sir William does not hide her away as Greville had, he is far wealthier and lavishes her with gifts, and he has direct communication with the highest people in the land. Emma quickly forgets her training of modesty and frugality that had become her way of life with Greville as life with Sir William presents her ever greater opportunities to mix with nobility.
Frances finds that the world in which she inhabits in her dreams is so much bigger than that of waking life. Reality seems so dull. These are not ordinary dreams; they are transporting her elsewhere. But she cannot figure out the purpose of the dreams - yet Frances is certain there is a message there for her to find. In her hotel room particularly, that sense of their purpose nags at her, a message that is trying to tell her something important, yet that message seems to be hidden from view.
But with each dream in which Frances finds herself living, Emma sees greater opportunities before her with which to improve her lot, to make her life more secure and raise herself to unbelievable heights in the society that now accepted her. The message seemed obvious enough here, if one strives against impossible odds, one may achieve the seemingly impossible. In the years that follow her arrival in Naples, Emma becomes well known within Neapolitan society, only the king and queen will not allow her in their presence, this is because Emma is a mistress and not a wife. Emma's mind shifts to another possibility - a way of ensuring she is never left abandoned again.
Read from the book by Rochelle Jones, below, as we join the story as Charles Greville plans to send Emma on a trip to Naples. He explains it is to be only a temporary stay, a holiday for her to enjoy time with his uncle, but Emma is far from happy to find she is being sent away from her love:---
I was indeed stunned at the proposal, ‘yer uncle? You mean Sir William?’ I said disbelievingly, ‘Yer’re sayin’ that you want send me an’ me sick ma t’ continent?’
‘My uncle admires you greatly, my dear,’ Greville explained patiently, ‘he would be so delighted by a visit from you, so much so that I declare, you will be happy and greatly benefited by a
stay in such an agreeable climate. Naples is the place where the most notable families go on tour. Did not Sir William admire you when he called on you?’
I remembered that he did indeed say he cared for me greatly. But to travel all the way to Naples, with my sick mother? I did not like that idea at all, and did not show any enthusiasm for
such a great venture. The idea that we would be separated for such a long time filled me with dread and panic.
‘It’ll be like we are parted for eternity; ‘ow can I profit from that, my dear Greville, I won’t go. Oh Greville, please don’t send me away’ I said to Greville feeling tears rising.
‘But do not be saddened, my dear,’ said Greville taking both my hands. ‘Later in the year it is my intension to join you. And then, we shall go on a grand tour together, and I can enjoy the
educational benefits with you.’
Greville was very much enthused by his proposed idea and was eager for me to write a letter to his uncle immediately, in which I was extol my desire for further improvement – including the
learning of the Italian and the French languages. What choice did I have? Greville helped with the letter, saying it needed to be worded in such a way that his uncle would have no doubt that
it was my wish to visit him because I knew he would be happy to see me again.
‘You will join me there as soon as you can?’ I pleaded with Greville. ‘You know that I live only to be with you, Greville… my love.’
Greville looked at me and for a moment he hesitated, for a moment he looked pained. But then he said. ‘You can be assured that I desire nothing less than to be with you, my dear Emma.’ Greville
said earnestly. ‘But this short period of separation is necessary. But think of this as a journey of benefit, a chance for you to profit your education. The grand tour is a desire to be
undertaken by all of polite society, and this is your opportunity to gain that privilege.’
It was a bitter blow for me to learn of Greville’s plan. But Greville was confident that Sir William would accept my wish to be his guest in Naples for as long as five months, after which
Greville would join me and we would begin our tour. Greville quickly made arrangements for two seats on the coach to Geneva that would be setting off at the end of February or early in March.
For the remaining months before the journey to Italy I continued to sit for Romney and he continued to make lots of sketches and started paintings of me in various poses of classical
characters. He was terribly sad when I told him that I was going to be away for some time on tour to better myself. I was terribly sad as well, but glad I could still visit my friend. He
had made my name around London and I was always delighted to see my name appear in the papers and magazines. Even such magazines as Gentleman’s Magazine. My portraits were becoming well
known thanks to their being reprinted in engravings, which were printed in their thousands.
But all too soon the time came for us to leave. The initial plan to leave at the end of February was put back a few weeks to the middle of March to allow my mother more time to recover.
But the departure date arrived none the less, and we took a Hackney cab to London Bridge to catch the coach down to Dover, where we would board the Dover packet to cross the channel. My
mother had already sent ahead of our departure a chest containing clothes and other necessities to go by ship to Naples. So, while we went by land, the chest would go by sea all the way
to Italy. My anxiety about the trip was thankfully much alleviated by the unexpected addition of the artist Gavin Hamilton, who changed his plans to travel with us as escort as far as Geneva.
Our tired party finally reached the residence of the British envoy in Naples in late April, this was at the Palazzo Sessa. Our arrival was announced and Sir William was there to greet us
with a large retinue of his staff. It had been a long and memorable journey, and yet I could only remember it as if a memorable dream, on the road through France and Italy for six weeks -
and now… it was April 26th of the year 1786 that we had arrived at the residence of the British Envoy. What a date to have arrived, I thought to myself. Indeed, most curious, as it was the
date that my mother said was my birth date.
I could recall the Journey. We had travelled through the night to cover the last stretch of the journey from Rome, a journey that had taken over a day of non-stop travelling, we had been
advised it was better than stopping for the night at one of the infamously grim, bug infested hovels that were available as guest houses between Rome and the city of Naples. I had travelled
the long journey from England accompanied by my mother and my friend, the young student of art, Gavin Hamilton, who had accompanied us all the way down as far as Rome, further than he had
initially intended to be with us. The coach through France and Switzerland had been hired by Sir William from a swiss coaching carrier called M. Dejean. When we had neared the Swiss Alps,
we were met in Geneva by some of Sir Williams domestic staff, including his Valet, Abraham Cottier, and his head footman Vincenzo Sabatino. They were there to arrange for our transport
through the alps, which included the use of Sedans carried by some Swiss Voiturins. We then had travelled through Tuscany to Rome, where we had left Gavin Williams. In Rome we found that
Sir William had sent his own travelling Chaise to carry us for the last stage of the journey. As we neared Naples the next day we travelled along a coastal road, a very scenic route which
I thought must be how paradise must look. As we neared the city, I saw a thin column of smoke rising into the sky over the city.
‘That is the volcano, Vesuvius,’ Cottier had said from his horse, ‘Sir William is something of an authority on the volcano. There’s nothing he enjoys more than studying it’
‘Is it about to go off?’ I had asked.
‘That is something that is always being debated, ma’am,’ said Cottier. ‘It spends most of its time making rumbling noises and belching smoke. But every now and again, over a long time, it
has been known to go off.’
As we neared the city, we saw the volcano beyond the olive groves and poplar lined fields; the two great peaks that formed the famed volcano, which dwarfed everything around it, a formidable
sight indeed. The roads became increasingly populated with houses as we neared the city of Naples. As soon as we passed through the great round towers of the city gates, called Porta Capuana,
we found ourselves in the crowded narrow streets of the Piazza Tribunali, choked with wagons and full of people shouting and hawking goods, there seemed also to be people singing on almost all
the junctures of the streets, hoping to earn a coin or two. We progressed as best we could along the Via Tribunali.
‘It is said this is the oldest street in Naples, perhaps the whole of Italy,’ Cottier shouted above the din of the street. ‘First built by the ancient Greeks.’
Eventually we were drawing along a wider road called Via Toledo which we followed down some way towards the coast. Cottier pointed out the Royal Palace before us and to the left the Castel
Nuovo where the King and Queen of the two Sicily’s now resided. Our road turned to the right, westward, to that part of the city called Chiaia. Following this route, we had suddenly turned
right, under an arch into a very narrow dark courtyard, where there were people working on lengths of rope. We continued to the end of this narrow courtyard and passed underneath another arch
into another courtyard; this was the courtyard of the Palazzo Sessa. Excitement and expectation filled me; this was the end of our long journey.
All my anxieties fell away when I saw Sir William. He had prepared to give us a most welcoming arrival as we rode into the courtyard of what seemed like an old ruin, perhaps it looked better
inside, I wondered? Sir William was awaiting our arrival with a large group of servants on hand to help us depart from his chaise as we arrived. One could almost have imagined that we were
important state visitors on an important occasion. I was so relieved that the seemingly endless travel was now at an end, despite still longing to be back at home at the cottage on Edgware
Road. I longed to be back with Greville.
‘Welcome, Welcome all,’ said Sir William, he patted his Valet on the back and sent his domestics who had escorted us ahead to get refreshments for themselves while awaiting servants opened
the carriage door and lowered the steps. ‘I am so glad that you have safely arrived at my humble abode,’ he said to my mother and I. ‘I trust the journey has not been too wearing for you,’
Sir William said as I alighted from the Chaise.
‘Good morning, me dear Sir William. I ‘ave looked forward to us meeting again.’ I said smiling wearily. ‘I ‘ave been looking forward t’ seeing me Pliny again.’
Sir William bowed and smiled, ‘I am so delighted to see you again. I have often thought of the Fair Tea Maker of Edgware Row and have longed to resumed our discussions.’ He turned to my
mother and smiled, ‘and good day to you Mrs Cadogan. I trust you are much recovered from your apoplexy? So glad you were able to make the journey down. I have apartments here for you both.’
Sir William took my arm and led the way through his gathered entourage of servants and then along cloisters that lined the courtyard to some stairs leading up to an antechamber.
And so Emma’s life and her adventures in Naples begin as she waits anxiously for her lover, he whom she depends on for surety in life, to join her.