England

John Bellairs made his first visit to England in the early 1960s, and it's hard to discern whether the overseas holiday sparked his Anglophilia or if this affliction was already full-blown.

Early Interests and Visits

On Bellairs's application for a teaching position in Gary in 1960, when asked what plans he had for "further formal education, research, [and] travel...", Bellairs writes "possible fellowships for study England [1]."  How or if these fellowships were ever secured and what became of them is unknown.

One of Bellairs's first, if not the first, visits to England took place between December 1961 and January 1961.  Bellairs wrote Fitschens from England saying to "expect me for the wedding"; he did appear for their wedding the following February [2].

Where did this budding anglophile get his inspiration? Indeed, the desire to see another country and culture is something most people harbor. During graduate school in Chicago, he was immersed in English literature and history from the poetry, prose, and plays from medieval times through the Elizabethan era. Bellairs was also familiar with some of the murkier parts of British antiquity through his readings of lesser-known stories about Gorboduc, The Tragedy of Sir John van Olden Barnavelt, Ralph Roister Doister, and the Tragedy of Nero.

Bowen believes Notre Dame professor Joe Duffy may have been one of the potentially numerous influences on Bellairs. While completing his doctoral dissertation about the English novel, Duffy lived in England and "always spoke nostalgically of England and often went there in the summertime. I recall him saying that he could imagine nothing better than living in an English provincial city - or words to that effect [3]." Bowen feels these comments were probably said in class and, of course, in front of Bellairs.

Six-Month Stay in Bristol

In the autumn of 1966, Bellairs was less than a semester into his teaching position at Shimer College when the internal rumblings between the administration and faculty came to its head. Unsure of any future in Mount Carroll, Bellairs submitted his resignation in November. Perhaps a gradual disdain toward teaching and the enjoyment he received from his first book, Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies, weighed on him as he expressed in his resignation letter that he was "going to go to England to write for a year or so [4]."

It made sense: Saint Fidgeta was received warmly at Shimer (as had its "famous author"), and now, out of graduate school, Bellairs found himself more interested in writing. He had already begun a new, shorter work to become The Pedant and the Shuffly.  While possibly motivated by the hint of literary success, Bellairs's end-goal may not have been immense fame and glittering riches but "the warmly glowing prospect of enough money to lead the literary life in some comfortable nook...[3]."  In June of 1967, following his departure from Shimer College, Bellairs sailed for England.

There was, of course, the matter of where he would live. Bellairs claimed, in a 1967 letter, he would "[live] in some bucolic retreat and [write] like hell [5]." John Drew, a friend from Chicago and originally from England, remembered Bellairs asking about staying at his family's cottage in Farningham, Kent, about twenty miles southeast of London [6]. This lodging may not have worked out, and it's unclear whether he visited Kent or the Drew family during his stay.

Bellairs also wrote that any loneliness abroad would "be relieved a bit by a contingent of Shimer students at Oxford [6]." For years, the Mount Carroll campus allowed upper-level students the chance to study abroad in conjunction with Oxford University. How many Shimer students and faculty in the Oxford program Bellairs knew is uncertain, but it would be a chance to socialize and tell rousing tales of the 1966-67 school year. Leading the Oxford delegation at Rutland House was Harry L. Golding, who had been a popular ("garrulous," says Bellairs [6]) instructor in Mount Carroll in the recent past. It was, in fact, Golding whom Bellairs had replaced as the head of McKee Hall.

He eventually settled in Bristol, and lodged at 13 Cotham Gardens [7], a boarding house owned or operated by Elizabeth Pimm. While in the city, Bellairs made a friend in David Morris, described as a "very distinguished-looking older man" and who may have earned his living as a security guard in a factory or hotel – in short, "a job for which he had a uniform, but he was a committed amateur artist and traveler [8]."

During his stay there was time for key landmarks such as Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge and Cabot Tower, the Roman ruins in nearby Bath, and side trips to Glastonbury, Wells, and, indeed, London. But Bellairs had set aside time on this trip for writing, too. From this "unique atmosphere" came the story of Prospero – first drafts of what would go on to become The Face in the Frost (1969).

Bellairs's original plan of a year overseas was cut in half when in January he returned to the United States on the QE II [9]. Taking up residence in Boston, Bellairs explained his decision to his friends of how the money didn't exactly pour in and told of "being cold and wretched in Bristol, constantly needing a shilling to put in the gas meter." Bowen believes he made the decision to come back when he was, to use an English expression, "cutting his suit to fit his cloth [3]."

Of note is Bellairs sailed to and from England for this journey. Bellairs acknowledges this was due to a fear of flying he eventually overcame for his 1975 vacation: "and then familiarity breeds contempt [10]."

1970s

Following a "big year last yr. dough-wise [11]", in the summer of 1975, John, Priscilla, and Frank, flew to England for a three-week vacation. "Twenty-two days of cathedral climbing, losing Frank, and we got stuck lengthwise in a canal boat near Chester," Bellairs wrote, adding that England is "now 2-3 times as expensive as in 1967 [11]." During this visit, they visited Bristol where John met up again with David Morris, who gave the trio guided tours of Bath, Wells and Glastonbury [8].

1980s

Among Bellairs's interests were "...(when I can afford it) travel - I went to London twice last year [12]."

Bellairs cited "a trip to London" as his favorite vacation in 1985: "I've been there six times and continue to admire the churches, museums and old-fashioned pubs [13]."

Bellairs and his son, Frank, flew over in the summer of 1986 "in the midst of terrorism scares and when all the hotels were empty and there were no lines anywhere and had a lovely time [10]."

At the end of his life, when asked why he went back to England so much, Bellairs said it was a "beautiful historic society and I have never learned to speak another language. The people are a lot more polite and easy to get along with than Americans.[10]"

Overall, Bellairs visited England a half dozen times over thirty years, each undoubtedly influencing his writing. Bits of English history and geography pop up in most of his books, most notably The Chessmen of Doom (1989), the Bristol-based The Secret of the Underground Room (1990), and the Bellairs-Strickland collaboration, The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder (1993).

So convincing was Bellairs's knowledge that some people have mistakenly referred to him as a British author. He probably would have gotten a kick out of that.

References

[1] "Academic Record Form For Indiana University Center Faculty." (July 23, 1960).
[2] Undated letter to Fitschens, sent from England (c.Dec. 1960-Jan. 1961).
[3] Correspondence with Charles Bowen.
[4] Correspondence from John Bellairs to Shimer College administration (Nov. 30, 1966).
[5] Correspondence from John Bellairs to Charles Bowen (April 8, 1967).
[6] Correspondence from John Bellairs to John Drew (undated, 1966-67).
[7] Correspondence with John Drew.
[8] Correspondence with Priscilla Bellairs.
[9] Correspondence from John Bellairs to John Drew (Jan. 16, 1968).
[10] "Author's Imagination Stuck at 10". Haverhill Eagle-Tribune (Nov. 25, 1990).
[11] Correspondence from John Bellairs to Alfred Myers (Dec. 1975).
[12] Correspondence from John Bellairs to Sharron McElmeel (1985).
[13] "John Bellairs's Favorites."  Haverhill Gazette (Dec. 28, 1985).