All this was written in the stars . . .
Prague, 1765. In the aftermath of a solar eclipse, the ancient city's astronomical clock, the Orloj, has stopped working. Legend says that the city will suffer if the ancient clock is neglected, and desperate to prevent catastrophe, the Orloj’s caretaker Felix Bartoš sends an urgent letter to Greenwich Observatory in England, where it falls into the lap of his former apprentice, Atticus Palmer.
Atticus has not stepped foot in Prague since his apprenticeship days, but welcomes the escape. Newly separated from his wife he craves the freedom of his youth and the company of friends. Helping his old mentor fix the city’s ancient clock can surely be no hardship? But soon it becomes clear that the Orloj has other ideas – none of Atticus’ attempts to repair the clock seem to work, and he cannot understand why.
Jana 'Juno' Tominová is relieved Atticus has come to assist her employer. Felix’s health has started to fail, and she worries for him dreadfully. It does not help that Felix has become obsessed with the signs he has started to read in the sky, nor that he is convinced that the clock is cursed; Atticus, at least, can be a much-needed voice of reason. Yet Juno cannot deny that recent events have been predicted by the stars, and as the winter stretches on with the Orloj keeping its stubborn silence, she begins to wonder if Felix might not have a point.
Can Atticus fix the clock and put Felix and Juno’s worries to rest? Or is the Orloj doomed to stand still forever, and Prague in turn to fall?
The Inspiration
In the autumn of 2013 - at the grand old age of twenty-eight, having never properly travelled overseas before - I took myself off for a soul-searching touring experience on a coach, alongside other similarly-minded individuals who I'd never met before. For three weeks I travelled with them across Europe and visited 28 countries, one of which being the Czech Republic.
I had always wanted (after becoming a little too obsessed with Drusilla from Buffy The Vampire Slayer as a teen) to go to Prague and see for myself the Gothic architecture. I never really expected to become quite so enthralled with the city but on a night-time walking tour, I did! I remember distinctly when I first saw Prague's Astronomical Clock, the Orloj, towering beautifully above the Old Town Square, and determined to come back in the daytime to hear it strike. The next day saw me watching the clockwork show so admired by tourists the world over, and listening to its iconic chime. Once it was finished and the crowd dispersed I continued to stand there looking up at it, vowing one day to write a novel set in that beautiful city using the historic clock as a springboard. But it wasn't until exactly ten years later that I actually set about researching it ...
The Research
Greenwich Observatory & The Herschel Museum of Astronomy
In autumn 2023 I visited the Royal Observatory in London, where I familiarised myself with the layout of Flamsteed House and the outbuildings in which the Astronomer Royal’s assistants would have worked. Although this research did not ultimately make its way into the finished novel, it was invaluable in helping me imagine how the observatory might have appeared in 1765 from Atticus' perspective, as well as allowing me to see the beautiful astronomical instruments of the period.
The following spring, I visited The Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath. Once again, I was fascinated by the instruments on display and the opportunity to learn more about William and Catherine Herschel. Although they did not rise to prominence until around twenty years after the events of The Constellations, I found both their work and their close working relationship deeply interesting. In some respects, the Herschel siblings influenced my creation of Felix and Juno.
Eclipses, Star Maps & The Orloj
Unlike my other novels, the research for this one became rather sprawling. From the outset, I knew I wanted to incorporate the six eclipses of 1765 and explore ideas of fate and reckoning. I knew that star charts and celestial maps would play an important role, and that the curse of the Orloj would lie at the heart of the story. Many of Prague's legends were never committed to paper - as is so typical of folklore, those myths were passed down by word of mouth, evolving in detail and meaning with each retelling. But the tale of the Orloj has always centred on one compelling idea: should the great clock ever cease to strike, the city of Prague itself would fall. As a novelist, that was simply too irresistible to ignore!
I shall leave you to read my Author’s Note for a fuller account of the research behind The Constellations, but below I have featured a few snapshots of my research journey.
Praha ~ The City of a Hundred Spires
It was imperative I returned to Prague. In previous novels, writing about London and Wales was easy because I knew them so well - but to write about a city I only visited once for just under 48 hours over a decade ago would have been disingenuous, so in November 2024 I took a research trip there to really immerse myself in its atmosphere. I spent five glorious days in the city, exploring the historic monuments within the Old Town, Lesser Town and the Prague Castle Complex - I even had a river tour of the Vltava! Each place I visited was relevant to The Constellations, and so important for helping me bring eighteenth-century Prague to life. NB: a few of these photos are from my original visit in 2013.
