Researching in the Médoc

Writing a book with historical pieces gives a good excuse for making trips to research for accuracy. This photo shows me in a graveyard in the Médoc region of Western France, reading the names on gravestones. I was looking at surnames, to find a common one to give my heroine, Lucy, in her life as Eloise during the French Revolution. There were quite a number of Seurins, so she became Eloise Seurin. David was called Daniel in that life, and I made up the name of deVrac for him, which is a joke - en vrac meaning wholesale, and a common way to see wine advertised: "Vins en vrac".

I found out much more about the Médoc and its history than I was able to put in the book, which is about Lucy and David, not France. But the overall 'feel' should be genuine.