Alison Kelly and Mrs Coade’s Stone
What on earth do 1930s set and costume designs have to do with Coade stone? Alison Kelly, their creator, is the link. I viewed her fabulous designs at the V&A East Storehouse on their third day of opening – so eager was I to view the works of my hero.
Much later in her long life, Kelly became the foremost authority on Coade, publishing Mrs Coade’s Stone in 1990. It remains the seminal work on Coade. It is comprehensive but readable, and the key resource for any Coade student.
Alison Kelly (1913–2016) was an amazing creator in her own right, packing her one hundred and two years of life with art and teaching and the written word. After working as a set and costume designer for the Westminster Theatre, she designed camouflage for five years during WWII. She lectured for over twenty years on English architecture, furniture and decoration, publishing many articles and books. She wrote three books alone on Wedgwood and even competed on the subject on Mastermind. But it is for her seventeen years of devoted research on Coade that she will be most honoured – by me, at any rate. My novel would not exist without Mrs Coade’s Stone, which informed and inspired it.
For all things textiles, I turned to this fantastic resource: 18th Century Fashion in Detail by Susan North. The garments in the book are from the V&A Museum’s collection, and I often visited to see these or similar pieces for inspiration.
Georgian & Regency Houses Explained by Trevor Yorke is a practical guide, filled with photos and illustrations – by the author as well. It filled in the gaps in my architectural and design knowledge – another excellent resource.