Bellairs wrote in 1960 that he had "possible fellowships for study in England," though how these fellowships were secured and what became of them is unknown. To the best of our knowledge, Bellairs first traveled overseas to England for a few weeks in December 1961. We're told that he did not always enjoy venturing far from home, but England seems to have been the one true exception as he made numerous trips over the next two decades.
Where did this budding anglophile get his inspiration? Certainly the desire to see another country and culture is something most people harbor. During graduate school in Chicago, if not before, John had also been immersed in English literature and history via the poetry, prose, and plays from medieval times through the Elizabethan era, and therefore was on a first name basis with Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Spenser, to name but a few. Bibliophile that he was, Bellairs more so delved into the murkier end of British antiquity through his readings of lesser-known stories about Gorboduc, The Tragedy of Sir John van Olden Barnavelt, and the Tragedy of Nero.
Bowen believes Notre Dame professor Joe Duffy may have been one of potentially numerous influences on Bellairs to visit England. Duffy had lived in England while completing his doctoral dissertation about the English novel and, "always spoke nostalgically of England and often went there in the summertime," recalls Bowen. "I recall him saying that he could imagine nothing better than living in an English provincial city - or words to that effect." Bowen feels these comments were probably said in class and, of course, in front of Bellairs.
Following his own doctoral studies, Bellairs made another trip to England in 1966, this one a lengthy six-month stay that saw him not only as tourist but also as budding author. Visiting big cities such as London and Bristol and touristy areas like Stonehenge, Bellairs also journeyed through the nooks and crannies of the English countryside to find hidden treasures like Salisbury Cathedral, the Wells Cathedral and clock, and Staunton Harold estate – all inspiring enough to warrant commemorating in his novels.
In the summer of 1975, by now married and with a family, John (along with wife Priscilla and son Frank) flew to England for a three-week vacation. "Twenty-two days of cathedral climbing, losing Frank, and we got stuck lengthwise in a cannel boat near Chester," Bellairs wrote to Myers, adding that England is "now 2-3 times as expensive as in 1967."
Bellairs returned to England twice in 1984 and revealed the next year in a newspaper interview that his favorite vacation was to London: "when I can afford it. I've been there six times and continue to admire the churches, museums and old-fashioned pubs."
It is interesting to note that Bellairs first visits to England were by ship, as he apparently had a fear of flying. A final interview in 1990 revealed that he overcame this fear in time for his visit in 1975 and that afterwards, "familiarity breeds contempt. In fact, my son and I flew 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. So the fear is really irrational."
This visit in 1986 was presumably his last.
