Sunday, February 24, 2019

Meet Osbert, the Village Leader


Osbert presses Cynethrith to get her family to go along with the village scheme to hide valuables from the king

Osbert is the unofficial leader of the village in the novel Courting Trouble. He and the villagers are scheming to prevent the king from imposing higher taxes. Their idea is to hide most of their wealth. In this drawing he is pressing Cynethrith to persuade her family to go along with the plan. Here's how Cynethrith sees Osbert: 
Osbert was tall and handsome and I, like everyone else in the village, enjoyed hearing him talk. He had a tiny little wife that he doted on; I was never sure why. I didn’t dislike her, but sometimes I used to imagine all the different ways she might die and how I would console Osbert.

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Meet the Village Gossip


A portrait of Tidburg, the gossip responsible for distorting the story that has come down to us as Cinderella.

 You know the sort of person who always seems to turn up when she is least welcome? In Courting Trouble that person is Tidburg. She has a nose for news and an ear for a good story, and both of those are more important to her than accuracy. We first see Tidburg in action when a villager recounts a salacious story about the queen.
The village gossip Tidburg, quick to sniff out a story, slithered into the group right next to the speaker . . . .

Sunday, February 10, 2019

From the Sketchbook: Scene 3

villagers, horses, Abbot, King, flowers, servants, trees, sheepfold, youths climb a wall

Sketchbook illustrations for  Scene 3 of Courting Trouble by Elaine Drew. In this scene, the villagers meet to discuss how to survive the King's expected visit to the nearby town of Winchester. One of the villagers recounts a story she has heard about the queen: an Abbot has seen her consorting with her favorite warriors in the guise of a horse. The Abbot hurries to the Castle and tells the King what he has seen. The queen presents the Abbot with some flowers, and he is mysteriously found dead the next morning. The villagers hide livestock in the scrubby woods near the village, and some youths are sent to climb the town's walls to keep a look out for the King's arrival.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

From the Sketchbook:Scene 2

Illustrations for Scene 2 of Courting Trouble by Elaine Drew; Cynethrith's mother, an archer; the empty throne of Wessex; servants overhear lovers; warriors storm the king and his mistress; the mistress if burned at the stake; her husband remarries a very young girl; Wessex gets a puppet king,
This chapter of Courting Trouble tells us why the people of Wessex do not like their King. A power hungry and resentful prince sets his warriors against the legitimate king, killing him while he is visiting his mistress. All who are eligible and of age to take the king's place are killed in the skirmish. The mistress is burned for infidelity, and her husband remarries a very young girl. Wessex's enemy, Mercia, takes over the kingdom by installing the puppet king Beorhtric.

An Enchanted Evening

In Courting Trouble a young warrior is eager to prove himself. He goes in search of conquest. Along the way, he is directed to an encha...