Writing a Series of Novels is tough work...

These novels are driven by romance within history, the history aspect of prime importance. This isn't about major battles or memorable skirmishes, the series is about families in time of war, rebellion, and how they live, survive, and where love and devotion is tested not only by family loyalties but loyalties to king and county. Although the English Civil Wars entailed several major battles, and numerous skirmishes, much of the fighting was splintered and local to specific places as the rival armies  traversed the country from north to south, and east to west. 

I have always derived immense pleasure from reading series novels. In fact I love ‘em and long ago I had it in mind to pen a series of four novels. Hence the English Civil Wars, Charles II’s attempt to wrest England from Cromwell’s clutches, the Restoration of Charles II and the Monmouth Rebellion sprang to life, and one portrait was the inspiration: 

Who is, she and what might her life have entailed?

The stories as a whole have been in my head since some thirty years ago after a ghostly apparition of a horse appeared in the courtyard of our house, or not. Perhaps in truth, what I experienced on that day, albeit within the house where I lived, was mere sense of a time past, and yet, the bridle of the horse was real to the touch. Even so, life itself and other publishing commitments (books in popular genres publishers wanted to publish for guaranteed returns on investment ) prevented this series coming to fruition. But at last, they are here, or at least, they're on Amazon. Since quitting mainstream publishing and going Indie in 2011 I've settled to writing for me and for readers who love romance and life-like history in equal measure not merely dressed up historical romances. 

By the way, for anyone who follows my blog posts or knows me well, they also know how the majority of my stories come about, and if you’d like to know for yourself you can find out by reading About Me. That said, the two houses in this series, in part reflect aspects of two houses, being one where I was born and the other in which I lived with my first husband. 

But, getting back to the subject matter, there’s nothing more frustrating than having read a book and wishing when the end is reached, that the story had carried on. Often I’ve wanted to know what happens to the lead characters post HEA, but more than that, to learn the fate of secondary characters. And there have been occasions when a prequel could have added to a series. Hence, I came to the conclusion there was scope for one of those little informative prequels to my series after I'd written book one and partway through book two. The second lead character in book one was determined to redeem his reputation a little and in doing so enlighten readers as to his earlier days of frustrations in the court of Charles I.  

And here it is.m behold the prequel Debt of Honour the forerunner to Book 1 

By Loyalty Divided. 

Yep, it’s set within my favourite period of history The English Civil War. The backdrop setting is Somerset - Bristol/Bath and surrounding districts. Bristol at that time was the second most important city in England and several times it changed hands between Royalists and Parliamentarians throughout the Civil Wars. Yes, two wars, not one major conflict.

In By Loyalty Divided, the main characters are:

Morton Viscount Axebury, (rebel son of William Lord Gantry) who becomes a Captain of Horse in the Army of Parliament = New Model Army.

William Lord Gantry (Royalist Commander)

Anna Lady Maitcliffe – born within the confines of the royal court until Lord Gantry became her ward.

The plot is a love triangle, which inevitably leads to tragedy.

Secondary characters:

The Lady Georgina Mrs. Darnley (Parliamentarian) - his lordship’s sister 
Catherine Thornton and her brother 
Captain Thomas Thornton (Royalist). 
Prince Charles, 
Prince Rupert, 
Lord Wittlesham.   

The second novel in The Royal Series:

Toast of Clifton, needless to say Toast meaning hostess of note. This novel is also set within the West of England at the time of Charles II’s bid to regain the throne and crown of England.

Main characters:

Thomas Thornton

Elizabeth Mountjoy

Morton Lord Gantry

Anna Lady Gantry

  

Secondary Characters are Catherine Lady Wittlesham (nee Thornton), Lord Wittlesham, Charles II, Lord Wilmot and others.

Although Toast of Clifton is a story of intense and passionate love, past betrayal haunts the hero and when the chance to right a wrong comes his way he takes it, but to lose every thing including the love of his life is a high price to pay for heroism. For when the odds of being imprisoned and deported to the colonies is your lot, and your King is fleeing the enemy as well, who comes first: family or King?  

And then to Royal Secrets, in which  the eldest Thornton daughter, Justine, sets her heart on the second generation Viscount Axebury of whom her father thoroughly disapproves and not without cause. Battles of family loyalty ensue, not only within the Thornton and Gantry households, but at Court too. It can be dangerous to overhear royal secrets when plotting to rid a king of his queen are afoot, as Justine soon discovers and her life suddenly in peril.      

And then as the years pass the Gantry and Thornton children begin to take centre stage along with Lord Wittlesham's daughters. Old feuds, lust of youth, desires and recklessness are set to cause mayhem and heartbreak and many tears are shed as the young test the allegiance and loyalty of their elders during the heart-wrenching weeks of The Monmouth Rebellion!  

One of their number, Henry Gantry, is looked upon as a traitor to the Gantry family, his story is one of spies, emotional turmoil, and regrets aplenty. But he's a king's man and loyal to James II, whilst his brother and the Thornton's are loyal to the Duke of Monmouth. Family feuding aside, Henry soon faces the awful truth royal favour is as fickle as his wife's affections, and when he's confronted with love that knocks him sideways he's tormented by duty to king and crown and torn between the two women. Tragedy strikes a severe blow, and although Henry turns to kingly duties whilst grieving a great loss, it is a tuning point in his life, where sense of family suddenly means more to him than his king.         

Rebellion continues in Lady of the Tower - Monmouth's Legacy. 

The rebel in this case is Thomasina, the youngest of the Thornton family, who risks her own life by venturing to the battlefield where carnage prevails. Whilst in search for her brother-in-law in a selfless act of bravery on behalf of her sister, her mission is fraught with danger, more especially when she's caught and assumed to be robbing the dead!  Whilst love blossoms for Thomasina and Captain Owain Lascelles, the horror in the aftermath of the Monmouth Rebellion unfolds, and Judge Jeffreys reign of terror throughout Hampshire, Dorset, and Somerset impacts on their lives, their families, and friends.       

And then, to come in about a year from now will be the release of:

 To Risk All in the Name of Treason. 

Set during the time of the Glorious Revolution (1688-1689), though "glorious" is a slightly overrated word for the toppling of a king who scarpered when senior army officers went over to the enemy. This is the story of Lady Georgina Gantry and Ira Wittlesham (junior).

Whilst Georgina takes on the role of spy within the Court of James II, as a lady to the Queen's bedchamber, Ira spies from within the king's personal court and within the salons of fellow officers of his majesty's lifeguards.  

But as history tells us, much deceit was already rife during the immediate aftermath of the Monmouth Rebellion and the dreadful circumstances surrounding Judge Jeffreys bloody reign. Thus the run up to the coming of William of Orange to the throne of England, is depicted from 1685 when a plot to overthrow James II was seeded and grew into a secret club of army officers. Two of the most famous hedged their bets throughout in determination to be on the winning side thus they wore false faces at court as did several more courtiers and junior officers of their day, and the latter were the first to desert their lines in Salisbury and ride to greet William and join his forces.     

   

All the books are available via Amazon worldwide.

 Amazon UK  Amazon US

      
   https://youtu.be/Qs3xHAIoKa0 

Minor characters can be leading lights!

It is often said many readers dislike introductions to books by way of minor characters whose part is solely given to that of introducing the main protagonists. Thus, out of pure interest, does an opening to a novel annoy you if minor characters gradually introduce the lead characters? 

Ardent fans of Jane Austen are no doubt conscious of Jane’s use of minor characters as backdrops to the main story (Wickham), or as a means of secondary observant viewpoint (Mary and Caroline in P&P). Georgette Heyer often used minor character/s for the opening of novels and those characters proved vital to overall plots.

The portrait above inspired the creation of Chastity and Honour, essentially two minor characters and truthfully I never saw them as lead characters. Once I started writing the sisters materialised as very different in outlook and temperament. Chastity is sweet, impressionable, and a little rotund for her years. She suffers lack of breath when out walking. Whilst Honour (elder) being slim, she's obsessed with perfection all things, bitter of tongue, judgemental of others, and is her mother’s favourite. 

Subsequently, it is these two girls who introduce the lead characters within A Sinful Countess. Whilst stories of vampires thrill Chastity, prim Honour not only fears the storyteller, her reaction fuels the plot, and fuels conflict between two households. Neither sister could predict that of which will befall them all as time passes. And their individual personalities result in very different lifestyles and opposing opinions, as revealed later. I did wonder after having finished A Sinful Countess, whether to revisit Chastity and Honour at the point before they went their separate ways! Who knows, perhaps they do indeed deserve a book of their own.

Back cover blurb:

...rekindling flames from smouldering embers of lustful dreams is a risqué venture...

Whilst tales of Gothic horror deters visitors to Titchley House, the publication of Byron’s Vampyre added to the rumour the Countess of Villach has returned to her childhood home stirs untold curiosity at neighbouring Upton Park. Alas, fear in one girl’s nightmare stirs her uncle and father to action, but neither man is truly prepared when the past and present collide in a whirlwind of suppressed love and desire. Whilst Bryony Stafford, novelist extraordinaire, wars with the Earl of Wittlesea, his brother Captain Carleton is hell-bent on seducing the countess. He’s no saint and well aware scandal can taint the innocent, but can he win the woman he’s coveted for ten years or is she truly a Sinful Countess?

Amazon UK     Amazon US

Jane Austen Book Awards!

What can one say, but Thank You to the Jane Austen judges: sincere thanks.

Speeches are just not me...  

I hate award ceremonies and all that overt gushing and full-on bluster. Besides, other than Pat Jackson my editor, who has admitted time and again at having forgotten to edit because he became so immersed in the story, which is a morale boost in itself.  But, I am for the rest of the process entirely alone in formatting for e-book and paperback editions, and the painting of my own covers.  

So that's it, me...

Now I'll get off the stage and get on with the rest of the show.

And.... I'm in good company on second award!

Suicide for authors in the Romance genre!

The very fact I paint my own covers I do require models, hence the photo on the right became the model for the hero depicted with the heroine in the left hand cover snip. 

Unusual hero for a Georgian era novel? 

I suppose he is, and no, he's not some romantic Bedouin tribesman who rides to the rescue of a fair maid or abducts her for his personal pleasure, nor is he a Barbary pirate. He's a young man of honour who swears fealty to a man who saved his life from one fate, though the greater fate prior awaiting him was, in part, more dire than death. And what transpires is not your average romance... errr, love story between two couples. 

Ooops! I must categorise my writing in correct terminology. I pray you heard not my whispered curse at that juncture...

Hence, writing out of the box for me is a passion in how far I can stretch the ubiquitous rules for historical romance novels, which have long since warn thin for me as a reader and writer. The standard boy meets girl, contention arises to keep H/H apart (you know the formula) and all is finally resolved for the HEA (happy ever after). I do read them but find myself often waiting for a riveting scene, something out of the ordinary, and it may be but a few words, and those words are insightful, memorable, and if written well they later vindicate suspicion of foreshadowing: that sense of evil this way comes, or sense of a presence watching. waiting...       

That's the kind of writing I admire and what I strive for, because if you don't read every word, a clue or nuance of other can be missed and the whole utterly misconstrued. After all, reading is all in the words, one can't fast-forward in the visual context and hope nothing of importance was said or enacted.  High stake problems, social restraints and failure motivate desire for change, and such can and will drive a novel forward, whether in narrative or dialogue. 

Stop for a moment and consider desires that transcend sage mind, where emotions spin out of control, where envy steals forth in all its ugliness, where a heroine or hero will take risks to achieve her or his aim for the life they want. Imagine a heroine who believes she cannot have that of which she desires and will literally take herself off to a nunnery rather than do as others would have her abide to. A young hero who vanishes to live a differing experience and learns more than he bargained for en route. In the great scheme of writing I do break the rules of romance from time to time, because too often stories are so alike I feel I've travelled on the same road, seen the same sights and nothing exciting or heart-wrenching happened along the way.

How dangerous is it to break romance rules and gallop off on wild and exciting trails of discovery, or break with tradition? Answer: It can be suicide for an author to go off the beaten romance track and indulge a Romance train wreck in which a sub hero dies, or the hero is killed! But sometimes events conspire against the author, characters determine their own destiny, and here is where the same old argument arises in what constitutes a "Romance Novel" as opposed to "Love Story".

The former Romance Novel is strictly romance all the way with little irritating asides, a touch of fear, abduction, murder, mystery, damn near rape, or forced sex in marriage, forced marriage, widowhood, and angst of one sort or another, plus friction, envy, rivalry, hot hot sex with a ghost, or no sex at all and all must have a fairy tale end. And Lo and Behold, the HEA supersedes the shocking elements, or how base the sex was, whatever... 

With a Love Story one can do almost any damn thing listed above one likes, and even kill the hero or heroine in the last scene shot. That's the most memorable end, is it not - remember Harry's Game the TV drama, or Heathcliff's haunting in Wuthering Heights?  But whoa, that's the suicide bid, the end bite where a reader can turn against the author. And even if the novel has a secondary HEA, that may not pacify the reader, and it does not classify it as a Romance novel, not  even a teeny weeny or grand Romantic ending. Oh, no, no, it's merely a Love Story as die-hard romancers will ram down your throat on social media until you wish you could puke all over their over zealous pomposity!

But back to the hero, the unusual, and the penning of risque love affairs... ah, do I have your attention? Some authors are more daring than others, and scarred heroes and spies returned from the Peninsular Wars, "Wellington and Napoleonic" era, have been the rage for several years now, and it would be great to see more modern-day authors risking all for love with unusual historical heroes! 

Damn it, research history, seek out the unusual and run or ride with it, and to hell with boring formula romance, Be daring, beguile, and write out of the box, Discard the sweet twee novel, and go for full-on cinematic glory where God forbid another author has gone before...           

   

What of a highwayman who isn't?
What of highwayman who robs for the daring of it, nothing more?
What of a soldier/sailor who is more than he appears to be?
What of heroine masquerading as other than she is and for good reason?
What of heroine who has walked a dark path and finally finds the love she has always sought?
What of young man who loves a heroine with extreme passion but can never voice that love?

Those are just a few of the story lines from my list of books...   

Go write out of the box and dare to be different!

    

        Amazon UK    Amazon US

      

Lady of the Tower

My words have taken flight with dark deeds of human nature, its envy, its jealousy, its lustful desires, unforgiving in its brutality;

my mind is bruised, tears welled, and yet, and yet, one moment of happiness eases the pain of yesteryears;

the going back through the words of others, those who saw, those who died before the ink dried, and those who loved and again returned,

none could forget, some couldn't forgive, thus they rallied,

and avowed to avenge the one a king had put to death.

BOOK RELEASE DAY - Finally finished after two years of searching for every scrap of evidence I could dig up in avoidance of bullshit "Victor" propaganda, which so many historians and authors who take words as writ by others as proof of past events. Not so, John Childs author/prof/biographer of Percy Kirke. Nor I who never takes anything for granted where history is concerned, instead I think, puzzle, and question the motives of the movers and shakers of their day. I investigate, dig deep into archives, pit one person's words against another's, look for discrepancies, look for the hidden clues and follow your nose as a bloodhound on fresh scent of its prey.

Back cover blurb:

In the aftermath of Rebellion and the Duke of Monmouth’s defeat, Thomasina Thornton rides to the battlefield wearing her dead brother’s clothes. Desperately searching for her brother-in-law, a Dutch officer, she’s aware of the dangers of posing as a curious lad. Fear and dread of capture materialises in stark reality with the arrival of a new officer and detachment of cavalry. As innocent bystanders and robbers of the dead are herded together, her freedom is at an end. Never had she envisaged the man who had momentarily held her gaze within the splendour of Axebury Hall would now hold her life in his hands. Nor can she perceive love and romance could or would blossom between them in that moment when threat of death, and worse, floods her thoughts.

This isn't a romance set against a historical backdrop, it's all about the raw reality of rebellion against a monarch by a king's natural son (a long debated point). Romance does blossom when least expected, but harbouring the enemy is always a dangerous business. more so when that man is a spy in the king's camp.

Excerpt:

One

~

Sedgemoor – Somerset 1685: July 7^th

~

Thomasina had left the inn not long after dawn, the stench of death now all about her, and where to begin her search she knew not, but at least no one had attempted to stop her from riding near to the battlefield. People were coming and going; the whole scene was a hive of activity as bodies with waterlogged clothing were hauled from rhynes and left for the death carts. Lifeless uniformed royalist soldiers slain on the surrounding fields had been hefted to wagons, and now moving away for burial. There were women amidst the dead searching and sorting rebel belongings from royalists, and all around little groups of people were given to tears on finding rebel soldiers who were known to them. Some begged to take their loved ones away, others had found friends. When finally granted permission to remove bodies, sense of great reverence befell the gathered, and all whilst under the watchful eye of royalist soldiers of foot.

A strange air of calm prevailed, perhaps part fear on the side of the civilians, and part respect on the part of the soldiers. Whether the soldiers were under orders to refrain from engaging insults and scornful reproach, it was impossible to determine. Nearby were two mounted soldiers, thankfully patrolling the far side of the bank and farther forward than she. Twice retching had befallen her, and a supposed boy retching might attract unwanted attention. But the sight of horse carcasses part floating was wholly incongruous in what had once been an idyllic haven for a majestic flotilla of swans now heading upstream, the appearance of the birds drawing the attention of the two riders.

Far from being the only civilian, she was a solitary figure on horseback whilst searching through the devastation of mangled and bloodied men. She had intentionally kept her distance and ridden the banks of the lesser Bussex rhyne and now edged Bramble toward the greater rhyne, the Langmoor Rhyne; where it was said the Dutch soldiers had perished. After all, a rebel runaway soldier killed near the King’s Head Inn declared he had witnessed the Dutch soldiers tumbling into the water; and looking down at the number of drowned horses and bodies tangled in weeds she feared the worst. As yet she had seen no fair hair, so fair it was the colour of cream off the milk. There was golden, brown and black hair of dead men floating, and lifeless eyes peering heavenward.

So engrossed in peering into reed and rush beds was she, the sudden sound of many horses on approach along the highway set her heart thudding. Barely had she gained her wits than a cavalry troop entered into the field. They soon split into detachments of four men, and were clearly intent on clearing the field of civilians. No. They were detaining them, herding them together as though they were but cattle. Fearing the worst, she cast her eyes along the rhyne to where she had seen the two riders in the far field, one a royalist officer of the Oxford Blues, if she was not mistaken. They too had noticed the new arrivals and duly crossed over the rhyne at a wooden plungeon and cantered across the field to join with their compatriots, or so she thought, until raised voices denoted a dispute had arisen between the officer in blue, and the newcomer wearing red.

To turn about and ride past the assembled would be somewhat foolhardy so she rode on toward the crossing point in hope no one would notice. When the plungeon was reached Bramble faltered. He was totally unwilling to tread the flooded and muddied crossing point. His behaviour much the same as when he had resisted her attempt to keep him close to the bank whilst keeping her eyes to the waters below. He could smell death all around, and even he could not be immune to the sight of dead horses.

Someone shouted “Hey, you there. What are you about, lad?”

Amazon com   Amazon UK

Mr Darcy's Home County.

So here we are in Derbyshire - Mr. Darcy's home county!

Derbyshire is a mix of High Peaks and glorious dells where rivers wend through steep valleys to reveal undulating slopes and flat river plains. In like to much of England, the county has numerous bridges from small pack horse bridges to the grand multi-span arched bridges. Often as not the moorland and peaks are shrouded in mist which lends the upper slopes to sense of a Gothic landscape erring somewhat creepy and mysterious to strangers, and can lead to finding oneself lost even with modern road signs. Whereas, in the Georgian era there were but milestones and no doubt as today, they were part shrouded in moss or ground ivy because locals knew their way around and no one bothered to clear away the creeping flora! Wooden signposts on high ground were prone to collapse in high winds of yesteryears, unlike the later mid-Victorian Iron signposts.   

     


There are several grand estates within Derbyshire, not least the country seat of the Duke's of Devonshire at Chatsworth House, and Hardwick Hall, both houses within the Cavendish family hands at that time!

Painting of Chatsworth circa 1785

Chapter 43 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen:

Elizabeth, as they drove along, watched for the first appearance of Pemberley Woods with some perturbation, and where at length they turned in at the lodge, her spirits were in a high flutter.

     The park was very large, and contained great variety of ground. They entered it in one of the lowest points, and drove for some time through a beautiful wood stretching over a wide extent.

     Elizabeth’s mind was too full for conversation but she saw and admired every remarkable spot and point of view. They gradually ascended for a half-a-mile, and there found themselves at the top  of a considerable eminence, where  the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of a valley, into which the road with some abruptness wound. It was a large, handsome stone building, standing well on rising ground , and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. It banks were neither formal nor falsely adorned.

In my JAFF novel I chose Buxton as the main country spa town nearest to Pemberley, in part because Jane Austen mentioned High Peak which is a long way north of Matlock. And although it is claimed Jane Austen stayed at The Rutland Arms in Bakewell, thus Mrs. Gardiner's Lambton is based on Bakewell, Buxton seemed closer to Pemberley's imagined location; based on the fact it couldn't be Chatsworth as Elizabeth and the Gardiners' had ventured to see Chatsworth and other en route.    

Chatsworth today. 

 Chapter 42 Pride and Prejudice JA.

In that county there was enough to be seen to occupy the chief of their three weeks; and to Mrs. Gardiner it had a peculiarly strong affection. The town where she had formerly passed some years of her life, and where they were now to spend a few days, was probably as great an object of her curiosity as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, and Dovedale, or the Peak. 

All in all Jane could have used several small market towns as her template for "Lambton" but Buxton gives greater scope for novelists due to its link with the 5th Duke of Devonshire. Aside from which, if Mrs. Gardiner's parents were of trade, as was Mr. Gardiner, the chances were they had dealings with Chatsworth, as would tradespeople of Bakewell (either Bakewell or Buxton = Lambton), both places in relative proximity to Chatsworth, barring a closer relationship betwixt Buxton and Chatsworth. 

A beautiful Crescent was built within Buxton by the 5th Duke of Devonshire. At the rear was a grand stable complex with a dome. The latter was built to house horses and equipage of the rich whilst the aristocracy who resided within the crescent partook of the Buxton waters, just as many people partook of the waters in fashionable Bath & Cheltenham, and other spa towns. It was essentially the Bath of the North, at its highest elevation of approx 1,000 feet above sea level! 

The Devonshire Dome. 

Derby itself is south of the county. 

Derby's Georgian heritage is apparent within its architecture!

And Matlock through which Jane Austen travelled, and here one can see older architecture mingling with Victorian Gothic. 

Needless to say, wherever authors choose to set their JAFF characters, north of the county seems best for P&P, close to Chatsworth and close to High Peak.  

If you wonder why I do larger text it's because many people have said they can't read small or faint text on blogs. So please forgive me if your sight is very good... 

    

Travel in Jane Austen's day!

It's all too easy to imagine travel of yesteryear as a time consuming mediaeval plod, and yet, in some respects travel during the latter half of the 18th century and early 19th was expedient when it came to mail coaches, post-chaises, and private drag companies;  the latter who were paid to ply the highways and byways of Georgian Britain on commissioned travel by clients, as did private drags owned by wealthy gentlemen and the aristocracy. Strange as it may seem, many wealthy men thoroughly enjoyed driving their own conveyances equally as well as their coachmen. It was also fashionable to drive curricles (high-top ) or a low-slung Tilney. 

For example, the mail coach runs! 

Travelling by mail coach from London to Bath, the average time on the road inclusive change of four-in-hand horses every 10-15 miles was 11 hrs. The greatest contributing factor to speed was ostlers at inns, who prided themselves on fast-changeovers of horses, thus the relief team were already harnessed ready to go, and the switch of horses could and was achieved in twelve minutes or less depending on weather conditions.    

From Exeter in Devon to Hyde Park Corner: the travel time of the mail coach was 15 hrs.

Private and Post Chaise Horses required two hours of rest per forty miles driven at a more leisurely pace than that of mail coach teams.   

Lighter weight chaises with two-in-hand (pair) were capable of matching mail coaches for speed but again required an hour of rest per 20-25 miles depending on terrain.

There's a bit of a myth on the author circuit teams of horses were for hire to anyone who stopped at any inn (or horse for hire establishment) and wished to change horses and drive onward, hence that statement is factually incorrect unless the owner of said horses was familiar with the person wishing to hire one and that person had credibility. What some inns, and often as not a local smithy (blacksmith/farrier) hired out, were emergency horses with a postilion if a horse had gone lame etc., and that postilion would later return with the horse/s when the conveyance was driven to its destination. Horses were extremely valuable during the time of the Napoleonic wars, and notably in short supply due to acquisition of equines for military service to replace those killed in action or shot when need be. Horse breeders of quality equines tended to be the aristocracy, or those providing horses for the Royal Mail and coaching companies.   

All coaching companies paid dues to keep a string of teams at various coaching inns en route, and canny innkeeper's kept a few spare horses if their inn was located close to a steep hill. Brake horses were ridden to the top of steep hills when coaches were due, and before descending the hill the brake horses were attached to the rear of the coach, the postilion in a position to assist the coachman with extra brake power. Likewise on the same hill ascending, two extra horses were attached to the pole to assist the team and then unhitched on reaching the top, especially important during inclement conditions and snowfall. Some farmsteads offered the same service of brake horses, the times of coaches passing through was pretty much on schedule barring mishaps.

Snippet of earlier history: The First stagecoach started up in 1610 from Edinburgh to Lieth. During the years of the English Civil War travel by coach averaged 7-8 days from London to Exeter. But as time progressed and Charles II was restored to the throne, more coaching routes were developed and travel times were lessened with better design of coaches and the renowned Flying Machine. In the years 1667-1670 announcements were commonplace:

"All those wishing to pass from London to Bath (to take the waters) or to any other place on their road, let them repair to the Bell Savage on Ludgate Hill London and the White Lion in Bath, at both places which they may be received in a Stage Coach every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which performs the whole journey in Three Days (if God permit), and sets forth at five in the Morning.
Passengers to pay One Pound five Shillings each, who are allowed to carry 14 Pounds Weight - for all above to pay the halfpence per Pound."  

Wars involved men travelling the length and breadth of the British Isles and overseas, not least those who became mercenary soldiers in the 30 yrs war, and those who fought in the Spanish, the French, and Dutch wars within the Low Countries on the Continent.
  
Thus the distance between "Land's End" at the most southern point of England in the far southwest of Cornwall, and to "John o' Groats" at the most northerly aspect of Scotland, represents the whole length of the main island of Great Britain. By road and highway it is 874 miles (1,407 km) betwixt the two and takes modern-day cycling enthusiasts 10 to 14 days; the record for running the route is nine days. 

Not all travel by horse was taken along highways! 

Dorset Ravine

A man and horse taking more diverse routes across country via bridleways, drover roads (ravines), and along old Roman roads in the 1800s and early 1900s matched that of the cyclists of today, and  with no change of horse en route. Hence the distance between the two extreme ends of the Island of Great Britain could be achieved in less time than imagined in yesteryear Britain. 

Pack-horse Drover Bridge

Although the main Roman roads ceased at the border between England and Scotland (Hadrian's Wall), where old drove roads and bridleways had afforded relative safety for lone travellers, so too the same sense of safety was preferable to riding the main highways with the threat of highwaymen. 

Many Drover roads were ancient track-ways traversing north, south, and east across England, and to the far west across Wales. Thus riding these routes across country, and over moorland, saved valuable journey time as opposed to conventional roads and highways.  

The same feats on horseback today require long diversions due to modern road systems, many of the original tracks are long since built on, and old Roman roads such as Ermine Street/Dere Street, known today as The Great North Road on which Dick Turpin rode with his famed Black Bess, now lie beneath tarmac. 

This is part of Watling Street (Roman way)

Part of Old Watling Street -
 registered as a green lane and bridleway.

Part of the Old Foss way  

Of other Roman roads there are many, not least The Foss way (220m), and Watling Street (200m), again great stretches now major modern roads. Of famous bridleways-cum-drove roads the most famous is The Ridgeway, an ancient track-way dated pre Roman times stretching longer than 87m, which is merely the wild section running along the Ridge of the Wiltshire and Berkshire Downs, above the famous Uffington White Horse. The Ridgeway remains as a track-way from start to finish. 

Although much of a second track-way, the Inkfield Way was built upon in more modern times and all but disappeared within the Home Counties, but in 1972 by slight deviations it was re-connected to The Ridgeway, hence once again providing a route almost as its original route from the Dorset coast to East Anglia. So, all in all, travel for lone riders, even troops of soldiers, much greater distances could and were travelled along the old track-ways than the more conventional routes which traversed town to town, city to city. 

Whilst coaching inns provided provisions for travellers, so too, along these old routes were taverns and inns aplenty in small villages. It's quite astonishing to think  Oliver Cromwell's great feat of marching his army and heavy cannon from Scotland to Worcester, covering 25 miles a day (1651). This feat is well documented. Whereas his cavalry and foot marched 40-50 miles a day to catch up with and to trail Charles II's Royalist forces from Scotland to Worcester. Charles had a head start of several days, thus the mammoth feat of Cromwell's men, all told, was one of endurance riding and marching, much of it along ancient routes and the great North Road (Dere Street), and thence to engage in battle within less than twelve hours of respite. And, what is more, Cromwell's men won the Battle of Worcester. 

Map of Roman Roads traversing England.