Cragside – MJ Porter

Cragside: A 1930s murder mystery

Some photos from Cragside Estate

The estate is close to where I live, and so to add to the general ambience, I’m sharing a few more wintery photos of the beautiful grounds below, and a little video I took one day when I was making sure my timings for the book were correct. It was a wee bit windy:)

Autumnal view of the estate looking out towards Rothbury

One of the many, many paths through the Estate and leading to the house

Somewhat by chance, I visited Cragside today and managed to snap some photos to share with my readers. I was most excited about the bathroom, which has been closed for a while but has now reopened. It looks amazing.

You can enjoy Cragside in ebook, paperback and audio, narrated by the fabulous Gill Mills, who portrays Lady Merryweather fantastically.

books2read.com/Cragside

Cragside, again, in photos

It’s not very often that I actually get to visit the places I write about. Very little of Saxon England remains as it would have been. But for Cragside, I could visit as often as I liked, and I did. I’m going to share some images of the interior of the house with you. These were either taken during December 2021, so might be a bit Christmasy, or were taken in August 2021. (apologises to people I’ve accidentally snapped).

View of the arch from the carriage drive

Cragside: A 1930s murder mystery is now available in ebook, hardback, paperback and audio.

Happy release day to Cragside: A 1930s murder mystery

Today, I’m releasing the ebook, paperback and audiobook of Cragside into the wild. I loved writing this book, and I want to say that my narrator, Gill Mills, has done an amazing job of bringing the character of Lady Ella Merryweather to life. Thank you.

But, why Cragside?

Cragside is a National Trust property in North Northumberland. During Lockdown, it was one of the places that was allowed to remain open (the grounds were) for locals. What started as a single visit because it was just amazing to go somewhere that wasn’t home, or the walk down the road, became a regular weekly haunt. Every week, just about without fail, and no matter the weather, we walked around the estate, exploring places I’d never seen before. And what an absolute joy it was. Cragside, the house, is majestic, but it’s the estate and all of its wonderful nature that really called to me. It’s not unusual to see a deer on the vast estate, or to watch birds, ducks and even some fish, in their natural environment. And some of the ducks like to have a proper little scrap, which really echoes.

And the more I walked around the estate, the more I started to see possibilities for a new story. The basin tank, dark and brooding, seemed like a perfect place to find a body, and that was just the first of the thoughts I had about a potential new story. And, of course, I also made the decision to set the story in Autumn, because while the spring and summer are beautiful, I’m a huge fan of Autumn colours, and it’s not just because the estate tends to be quieter over the cooler months:)

The Basin Tank. This was the first place that really made me think about writing a murder mystery set here.

My main character, Lady Ella Merryweather, developed along with my walks and I enjoyed crafting the story of a woman already suspected of murder trying to prove her innocence in the 1930s.