Here is the list of questions I am sending to my awesome brother, who is getting his PhD. in history at Vanderbilt. He’s offered to do legwork for me in Nashville. Books are great, but there are times when you just run into dead ends that need a local to track things down.
The novel takes place in 1907 but anything between 1900 and 1907 is probably accurate enough for my purposes. Truly, I could make a lot of this stuff up so if you can’t find the answer without a lot of trouble, I’ll assume that my readers won’t know either. It’s just more fun if I can use real places and details.
- What was the rail schedule in 1907? Specifically Nashville to Chattanooga with an ideal departure on Sunday evening and return on Tuesday morning.
- How long would it take to go by rail from Nashville to Richmond, VA? If it is more than one day, I need a major city roughly between Nashville and D.C. that one can get to by train in a day. Louisville, Knoxville and Raleigh look like possibilities.
- If you find an amazing train resource, I also need rail schedules for Chattanooga to Atlanta and Atlanta to Birmingham. I’m looking for transit times, more than anything else.
- What was housing like for graduate students at Vanderbilt attending between 1899-1903? Dorms?
- Can you help me find a picture of the interior of the Vanderbilt library in roughly 1907? Floorplan would also be lovely.
- What was the most expensive restaurant in town in 1907? Bonus points for a menu!
- What beer should I bring home next time I visit?
It is very handy having a brother who is a historian. But… um, if any of you have the ready answers to my questions, feel free to save my brother some trouble.
If you need info from Japan, esp during the Edo period related to finances or samurai wives, I can help…not so much with the American stuff…
Hope he can find everything you need!