Beautiful People locations with Amanda Jennings
Beautiful People locations
Off to London and Paris mainly with a lovely jaunt to Cornwall….
Book map of locations
My last four books have been set Cornwall and when I started to write Beautiful People I originally placed the fictional architecture school in Falmouth. Though I loved writing this – having the students hanging out on the beach, Victoria painting the waves, the sea as a backdrop to the turbulent emotions of the young students – something wasn’t working. As the story developed, the privilege and glitz of the group became more concentrated, things didn’t seem to chime.
Book map of locations
Falmouth – a gorgeous street!
I tried writing a scene with the university relocated to London and almost immediately the characters felt more at home. This group of people were from wealthy aspirational families and attending one of the most highly regarded architectural schools in the country. So, it felt more real that they would have gravitated to the bright lights of London. Once I’d shifted the location, it seemed obvious. QSA felt more suited to the scale and sophistication of London. The characters would now hang out at the most exclusive restaurants and bars. They could frequent VIP areas and make use of private members’ clubs. Moving to London freed the story, opening it up to a host of excessive possibilities.
Bedford Square – where the fictional art gallery is
Book map of locations
I kept the present day setting in Cornwall. This felt right. The hotel where Ingrid and Julian hold their wedding is high-end and luxurious, with a lawn running down to the cliffs. It also has an Instagram-aesthetic and so is the type of place an influencer yearns to be photographed. Ingrid and Julian’s suite at the hotel is also important as is the terrace below which features in the prologue and at the final scene of the story. I pictured this so clearly, a darkened terrace beneath a balcony, a man lying dead, a woman standing over him, whilst the decadent wedding continues. I loved the idea of the bloody scene set against a backdrop of wild excess. Just imagine – hundreds of sparkling, beautiful people dressed to the nines, existing in their privileged bubble, unaware of the horror on the terrace.
Could it be Greenbank hotel in Falmouth?
Book map of locations
The third geographical element to the story is France. I wanted Victoria to have escaped England. I thought of the artists on the strips in the South of France that I’d been so fascinated by when I was a child, watching them paint exaggerated cartoons of tourists who sat on stools and posed happily, as their grotesque likenesses took shape. I saw a parallel between these cartoons and the characters in the book as viewed through the eyes of Victoria. Gradually my French setting grew in importance.
The Louvre, Paris – where one of the paintings sits..
Book map of locations
As Victoria’s attraction to Nick developed I wanted her to be entranced by him and his apparent exotic sophistication. I recalled my own time at university and how alluring it was to meet people with different interests. As Nick and Victoria were architecture students, I pictured them sharing an interest in art. I imagined Victoria being seduced by Nick’s passion, seeing a scene where Nick excitedly jumps up to get a book to show Victoria his favourite work of art, and having her imprint on this painting. The painting would embody female strength and power, and she would try and emulate this to have Nick view her with the same appreciation.
Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People
Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People (c) Wikipedia
Book map of locations
I knew the painting I would use, Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People. It hangs in the Louvre in Paris. Nick would tell Victoria he’d love to show her the real thing one day. She would hear this – in her infatuation – as him wanting to take her to Paris and she would become convinced her love was reciprocated. France also plays a part in Coco’s story. She sits on a rock on the cliffs in Cornwall and stares out across the sea, imagining a girl, just like her on a similar rock in a place called Trégastel. It is this girl, her imagined French twin – Coco’s inner voice, perhaps – who gives Coco strength when she needs it.
Oh wow, Amanda, think more than a few people will be heading out to join those Beautiful People!
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Beautiful People
Twitter : @MandaJJennings
