fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2321 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2321 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

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Perhaps your character could look for newspaper information? If the family home is in a small town, there are often news clippings for achievements by citizens who have ties to the town, especially if the house was something of an old, Victorian-style house. Something like: "daughter of (man's name) from XXX village wins Best Garden at Country State Fair" with an article mentioning her (future) husband's name and plans, or her husband's name if she's already married.

But that would imply that people know in the village that she even existed. This reminds me of a book/film, perhaps you know it, Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources. Long story short: there was a girl who fled her village and had a boy. The boy came back after his mother's death to try and live on her land, which had its own spring. Someone else had an eye on that land and clogged the spring with the help of his uncle so that he couldn't use it anymore, and the poor man worked himself to death.

No one knew who the father was (I won't tell you who it is if you don't want to be spoiled) except a friend of the mother. Now your ghost lived in the 1860s so that rules out surviving friends, but what about letters? If your character knows where the daughter lived, perhaps there are letters, photos, kept in the orphanage she went to (assuming she went to one). Perhaps she made friends there, with descendants who have kept her letters. Perhaps there's a photo of her in the orphanage with clues about a wedding, or records mentioning when they left and what employment they have found, which could be the beginning of a trail. Perhaps she had links with friends of her parents who took her in and kept tabs on her, perhaps their descendants have photos of the girl and of the friends at the wedding...

Haha, Jean de Florette! We actually had to watch that back in high school French, and unfortunately all I took away from it was rabbits :D

Those are some possible ideas...I had figured the daughter was raised by neighbors or friends or something, because she was just an infant when she was orphaned. My character doesn't know any of that, and I'm not sure how she would find it out. I really thought of this discovery as being faceless names and records, more factual than emotional, but maybe that won't work.

Poor rabbits! :D

Manon des Sources was about his daughter, and the very end reveals who Jean's father was. I cry rivers every time.

Good luck with your book!

Thanks! You guys are so awesome for helping me.

[ SECRET POST #2321 ]

Re: Research is making me want to cry.

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Re: Research is making me want to cry.