The Pelican Inn, the setting for some key scenes in The Mayfair Affair, was inspired by the real Pelican Inn, a wonderful recreation of a sixteenth century inn near Muir Woods in Marin County, not far from the coast where Francis Drake landed. Mélanie and I spent a wonderful afternoon at the Pelican Inn doing research when I was writing Mayfair.
Following up on last week’s great spoiler thread discussion of Mayfair, (which I hope readers continue) this seemed a good time to start a spoiler thread about the developments in Laura and Raoul’s relationship that begin during their stay at the Pelican Inn. What did you think? Were you surprised? What do you think lies in store for them?
Cheers,
Tracy
Tracy Grant - Novelist 
May 29, 2015 at 11:55 am
How did I not know about this place after all the years growing up in Marin?!
May 29, 2015 at 8:14 pm
It was there when we were in high school – that’s when I first went. But it’s sort of tucked away on the way to Muir Woods. It’s a really cool place – full of atmosphere. Going there for an afternoon is like a mini-vacation.
May 29, 2015 at 8:06 pm
What a lovely place to do research. Loved the scenes between Raoul and Laura at the inn, and am hoping there will be more romantic threads for them in the next!
May 29, 2015 at 8:16 pm
You really feel like your stepping into the past at the Pelican Inn, Betty. So great to have it nearby for research. As for Laura and Raoul, there is definitely more of their developing relationship in the next book!
May 31, 2015 at 12:32 am
Definitely a place to check out if I have a chance on one of my trips to the west coast. I may have mentioned my daughter lives in Long Beach. The farthest north I’ve traveled is Sonoma – been in San Fran 3 times. I’ve been fortunate to see many places between Rosarita, Mexico and Sonoma, so you never know!
June 3, 2015 at 3:13 am
It’s not far from San Francisco, Betty – it would make a lovely day trip. Would love to meet you if you’re in the Bay Area again!
June 5, 2015 at 12:33 am
Thanks so much Tracy. I would love that too.
I just finished The Paris Plot in which it was mentioned Malcolm found coded information left by a French agent after Waterloo and turned it over to Wellington who then gave it to Fouche. Is that how Fouche knew about Suzanne when he threatened her in The Paris Affair? I’m reading The Berkeley Square Affair now and then will have completed all of the Malcolm and Suzanne books – they have all been wonderful! Can’t wait for the next installment!
June 5, 2015 at 6:17 am
So glad you are enjoying the series, Betty, and good catch on the information Malcolm gave to Wellington and Wellington gave to Fouche. My idea was actually that Fouche had known about Suzanne longer, though, going back to during the war itself. I don’t think I was explicit about when, except for Raoul saying he tried to protect her identity but that it was difficult.
Do let me know what you think of Berkeley Square!
May 30, 2015 at 4:34 am
What a lovely location. I can see why it would be inspiring. The window Mel’s looking into looks like something straight out of rural England. Definitely someplace I’d like to visit!
June 3, 2015 at 3:19 am
I love that window, Lynne! You can’t quite see it in the picture, but the depth of the wall is several inches thick. A lot of details of the parlor where Laura, Raoul, and Addison talk and eat dinner came right from our visit to the inn. The prints on the wall, the fireplace, the candles encased in glass, the twisting passages. It’s a wonderful place to visit if you’re ever in the Bay Area (in which case, we’d love to meet you!).
June 3, 2015 at 3:44 am
I haven’t been down your way for about 20 years and hope to get back one day. I used to visit San Francisco every other year growing up because I had family down there, and my mom grew up there. I’d love to see that little inn and will put it on my list to visit. And I would definitely love to meet up if I get there, Right now the savings are earmarked for England – hopefully next year. We’ll see…
Your description of The Pelican reminds me of a very old inn in Wells that my girlfriends and I stayed in during my first UK visit years ago. It had all the things you describe, along with sloping floors, steps up and down everywhere, and a glass-enclosed case with the original wattle and dab wall that dated back to about 1300. Talk about atmosphere!
June 3, 2015 at 3:52 am
That inn in Wales sounds amazing, Lynne! So exciting about your plans to visit England. I hope to take Melanie in the next couple of years. We’ll see…
June 5, 2015 at 12:44 pm
I finally got my internet connection fixed yesterday and after reading all the comments I missed out on it feels like I have been on a desert island for a year! Gosh, I would love to see the Pelican Inn. I have a connection in that Sir Francis Drake is a family member. We are descended from one of his brothers. I can’t remember which one but Mum has it all written down in her family tree.
It is amazing the characters you find when you trace your family tree. We have several famous people we can be proud of, along with a few mass murders, a gang of horse thieves and several other skeletons. Not long ago Deanna Raybourn mentioned that she is descended from the Plantagenets. Unfortunately she had the comments turned off so I couldn’t say anything, but that would make us related, by marriage not by blood, as on my mother’s side we are distantly related to the Neville who were the Earls of Salisbury and Warwick and several of them married into the York side of the Plantagenets. I guess once you get as far back as the middle ages, after all the wars, massacres and plagues, the gene pool is pretty small.
June 6, 2015 at 3:40 am
You could be queen – you’re related to so many people! Just kidding but I am impressed!
June 6, 2015 at 4:09 am
I’m impressed too! Very cool, Suzanne! I started out in15th century history, and the Nevilles have always intrigued me.
June 6, 2015 at 4:42 am
I heard on a TV doco recently that if your ancestors lived in Western Europe from the late dark ages to fairly recently then you would be descended from Charlemagne. Not that he was a love machine but the gene pool gets smaller and smaller as you go backwards. So, who knows, we may all be related!
Lynne, my family tree doesn’t have any royalty that I know of at this point. The Nevilles were the closest we got and most of them were killed off during the Wars Of The Roses or later by Henry VII and Henry VIII who both had a severe case of Plantagenets under the bed. It was only the girls who managed to keep their heads down and survive the Tudors. The one I am related to is Lucy Neville, who was the daughter of John Neville the Earl Of Warwick’s (known as the kingmaker) younger brother. So fortunately for me they were obscure enough not to be seen as a threat and executed.