The Bitter Trade by Piers Alexander

I was drawn to this book by the cover and having read the synopis expected a book about the importation of coffee in the seventeenth century.

Instead the book was about a young man, called Calumny living with his family in rural England during the terbulance of the seventeenth century, the removal of James II and the installation of William of Orange.

Calumny has a hatred for his father, He can not understand why they live in the middle of nowhere, why he can not read and why he not allowed to learn a trade that will enable him to leave his family home and become his own person.

Very little is known of his father's background, but before long a visitor from his father's past arrives and with them a set of decisions to be made and Calumny has to find a way to undestand and deal with the secrets of his father.

Overall, I was a little disappointed there was not more details of coffee trading, but overall this was a good storyline. There was a little disjoinedness between the historical facts, but nonetheless this was an enjoyable read and this is a book I would recommend and I am looking forward to the sequel.

To whet your appetite here is an excerpt from the book

"In 1688, torn by rebellions, England lives under the threat of a Dutch invasion. Redheaded Calumny Spinks is the lowliest man in an Essex backwater: half-French and still unapprenticed at seventeen, yet he dreams of wealth and title.

When his father’s violent past resurfaces, Calumny’s desperation leads him to flee to London and become a coffee racketeer. He has just three months to pay off a blackmailer and save his father’s life – but his ambition and talent for mimicry pull him into a conspiracy against the King himself. Cal’s journey takes him from the tough life of Huguenot silk weavers to the vicious intrigues at Court. As the illicit trader Benjamin de Corvis and his controlling daughter Emilia pull him into their plots, and his lover Violet Fintry is threatened by impending war, Cal is forced to choose between his conscience and his dream of becoming Mister Calumny Spinks."

This is a debut novel from Piers Alexander and you can read al little about him as well as following via various social media channels.

Piers Alexander is an author and serial entrepreneur. After a successful career as CEO of media and events companies he became a Co-Founder and Chairman of three start-up businesses. In 2013 he was awarded the PEN Factor Prize for The Bitter Trade. He is currently working on the sequel, Scatterwood, set in Jamaica in 1692.

For more information visit Piers Alexander’s website. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

The Bitter Trade has been on a book tour for the last month and today marks the end of the tour. You can read the reviews from other readers by clicking the relevant links below:

Monday, October 13

Review at Back Porchervations

Spotlight at Literary Chanteuse

Tuesday, October 14

Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, October 15

Interview at Back Porchervations

Guest Post at Historical Tapestry

Thursday, October 16

Spotlight & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages

Monday, October 20

Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, October 21

Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Wednesday, October 22

Interview at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Thursday, October 23

Guest Post at Historical Fiction Connection

Tuesday, October 28

Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Wednesday, October 29

Spotlight at Unshelfish

Thursday, October 30

Review at Broken Teepee

Saturday, November 1

Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Monday, November 3

Review at Book by Book

Review & Interview at Dab of Darkness

Tuesday, November 4

Review at Just One More Chapter

Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Wednesday, November 5

Review at Turning the Pages

Guest Post at Just One More Chapter

Thursday, November 6

Spotlight at Let Them Read Books

Monday, November 10

Review at A Book Geek

Tuesday, November 11

Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, November 12

Spotlight at Layered Pages

Friday, November 14

Review at Anglers Rest

Review & Giveaway at Booklover Book Reviews

The book tour was hosted by Amy at Historical Fiction Book Tours and this review will also appear at Historical Tapestry next week.

Tax Disc - The End of an Era

Image courtesy of The Independent

Today marks the end of an era for those of us in the UK.

Back in 1921 motorists in the UK were required to pay a fee, known as Road Tax to the Government in order to drive their car on the road.

Each year, those brown envelops would arrive in the post and would be followed at some point by the end of the month with a trip to the post office.

There we would hand over the insurance certificate, the MOT (Ministry of Transport) certificate, which confirms that the car was safe on the road and the road tax request document. In exchange for cash or a card payment, motorists would receive a disc such as pictured here. 

The disc would need to be displayed in the car, otherwise there was a hefty fine of £1,000 for failing to do so. In recent years the trip to the post office was removed as the enabling of the Ministry of Transport to accept card payments and track electronically that you were insured and the owner of a valid MOT. A few days later a paper disc would arrive in the post. It's arrival would mean spending a few moments carefully removing the disc from the paper using the perforation. For those of us that are somewhat clumsy that proved quite a challenge!

From today, it will no longer be required to display a tax disc. You still have to respond to the brown envelop containing the reminder and pay the fee, but you will no longer receive the disc in the post. Therefore this marks the end of an era.

Will we, I wonder see an increase in the hobby of Velologists, or tax disc collectors?

Scotland's Future - The People have Spoken

Yesterday was an important day in the history of Scotland, and the rest of the United Kingdom.

After a campaign of around two years, the people of Scotland took to the polling booths to vote on whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom or not. Scots living outside of Scotland were not able to vote and non Scots living in Scotland were.

The world I am sure watched. We had various Politicians and former Politicians speaking out - Prime Minister Abbot from Australia, and Former US President Bill Clinton all said what they thought, they of course didn't get a vote.

That task was left to the people of Scotland, including Mrs G senior.

The picture I have shown here is the policy booklet. It is a very hefty book, one now sits on my bookshelf as I used it for some writing fairly recently. The entire e-book can be downloaded from HERE. There is also a Referendum site HERE.

A few weeks ago, Mrs G senior mentioned that she was fed up with the Scotland debate, and even muttered that she might not vote. I was horrified and asked if she really knew what the vote was all about. There was a pause and a degree of hesitation. After a few moments she spoke and made the comment that whilst she was English, she has lived more than half her life in Scotland and did actually feel Scottish therefore  she really should vote shouldn't she?

I encouraged her to vote, to exercise the right that many of her ancestors didn't get to do. Voting is something that is democratic process and makes us as women equal amongst men. In some cultures and Countries there is no democracy. I don't know if she voted or not, but the people of Scotland have spoken, in fact I read via Sky News online 

"A turnout of 86% is one of the highest in the democratic world for any election or any referendum in history - this has been a triumph for the democratic process and for participation in politics."

The polling booths were open until 10pm last night and the vote counting and checking would have gone on well into the night. I awoke this morning and read the outcome of the vote and as I type this the final figures are not in, but the majority have spoken and made the decision to remain part of the United Kingdom.

What this means for Alex Salmond the Scottish MP who lead the debate I don't know. There are promises of more autonomy from London. Decisions about Scotland being made in Scotland, by Scottish ministers. The "Say No" campaign had the slogan, "better together" and depending which side of the debate you were on will depend whether you agree on the sentiment of slogan.

From a historical and logistical purpose just what would have happened had the vote been yes?

Outlander - Books, Tartans, History and Scotland

Several years ago I was introduced to the books set Scotland, called the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. The series has progressed and is now on book eight; and each of the books is a whopper! 

The initial book in the series (Cross Stitch in the UK) is set just after the second world war.  The following is an excerpt from the author's website

"In 1946, after WWII, a young Englishwoman named Claire Beauchamp Randall goes to the Scottish Highlands with her husband, Frank. She’s an ex-combat nurse, he’s been in the army as well, they’ve been separated for the last six years, and this is a second honeymoon; they’re getting re-acquainted with each other, thinking of starting a family. But one day Claire goes out walking by herself, and comes across a circle of standing stones—such circles are in fact common all over northern Britain. She walks through a cleft stone in the circle….and disappears.........."

As I started to read this book I wondered if my Grandparents had experienced something similar. They married in November 1939 and in 1940 my Grandfather joined the army. He was discharged from service in 1946 and remained on the reserves list until 1954. My Mum was not born until 1947, so it is probably fair to say that by the time Mum was born, her parents had actually lived together for about a few years.  How had they adjusted to each other? That is as far as the similarities ended, as my Grandparents never went to Scotland, and as to disappearing in standing stones, I can hear the voice of my Grandmother now saying "what poppycock!"

Now there is to be a television series which sadly, does not appear to be airing here in the UK soon, unless you know different! - If you do please leave a comment.

Yesterday I was working on an article for The In-Depth Genealogists when I spotted that the tartan's used for the series had been registered with the Tartan Register in Scotland. You can see the five tartans associated with the series HERE and to see the article on Tartans you need to subscribe to The In-Depth Genealogy blog or check using this link

My Lost Son - BBC Documentary (Lockerbie Pan Am 103)

Lockerbie Air Disaster Memorial
Taken April 2006  - Julie Goucher

I recall back in December 1988 hearing the tragic news of the air disaster in Scotland; the bombing of Pan Am 103 heading to the United States. 

It was therefore quite a coincidence that I should, a mere six years later go on to marry someone whose birthday fell the same date as that air disaster and that my husband should have grown up in a small hamlet just outside of Lockerbie, where part of the aircraft came down. 

Over the years I have visited the memorial in the churchyard at Tundergarth and the main and tasteful memorial at Lockerbie Cemetery. I have stood and read all those names including those of the locals who were victims of the disaster; and that of the friend my husband lost on that sad and tragic day.

I was therefore surprised when, whilst searching the various television channels for news rather that sport news this evening to catch the end of a program indirectly about the air disaster. I quickly added to the program to record, but had missed about half of it. I quickly turned to trusty YouTube to see if the program was there. It was and the program is available for all to see and I then spent the next thirty minutes watching it.

As you will see, this is a story not just of the tragedy itself, but also of loss at a personal level, grief and the need to make that special journey even if the road of that journey is a tough one.

For some reason, the program resonated with me. I fully understand the need for this tough and emotional journey and admire the courage and determination of the lady concerned.

Below you will the photographs I have taken of the memorial stones.
Introduction and the link to the various photographs - all taken April 2006.

The Fishing Fleet – Anne de Courcy

A year ago today I wrote a review of this book and you can read it here. Then last week, I was sent the link to an interview that the author did in Australia, for Adelaide Week in March 2013.

I have to say I was very surprised and enjoyed hearing the author talk of her findings and how she wove the details together into the book.

The subject is fascinating and my own interest, because I have family who left rural Surrey in the 1760's to head to India, has been reawakened and I am therefore inspired to re-read the book.

Challenges of Mother Nature

The south west of England has been battered by severe storms for weeks, in fact since well before Christmas. The winds on occasions up to 80 miles per hour, and torrential rain with burst of hail stones. When the rain has abated we have had some winter sunshine and the temperature dipping to around 2 or 3 Centigrade.

Then this week the strange weather turned up a notch and the severe gales and rain arrived. The south Devon town where I live battered by the sea and gales. The area is well known for the railway line which runs along side the sea wall. Gorgeous in the summer, but a challenging issue with the gales and rain. Dawlish, the next town along has experienced some shocking damage.

Picture courtesy of Sky News

This picture shows the devastation to the railway track. Devastation that you would never believe possible. This damage effectively means the south west of England is cut off from the rest of the Country, at least by train. The repairs will cost millions and take weeks.

Across the rest of the County, indeed the region is swamped with weather warnings, as the next picture reveals.

Picture courtesy of Sky News

.The forecast for the next few days predicts more and lots more of the same, and as I type this I can hear the rain and the gales outside raging.

Roll on Spring!

Weekend Cooking ~ Burns Night

Across the globe, thousands of people with Scottish Heritage celebrate the birth of the Scottish Poet Rabbie Burns on 25 January. Traditionally there is a Burns Supper of Haggis, Neep and Tatties to celebrate the event.

Rabbie Burns 1759 - 1796

The formal supper starts with a welcome and announcements then the Selkirk Grace.

Selkirk is one of the oldest towns in the Borders of Scotland. The Grace itself is a prayer and said before a meal. Here is the prayer in both Scottish and English translation:

Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.

Some have food and cannot eat,
And some would eat that lack it,
But we have food and we can eat,
So let God be thanked.

After the Grace everyone stands as the Haggis is carried into the room to the sound of bagpipes. The Haggis is laid at the hosts table and then there is the cutting of the Haggis and the famous poem "Address to a Haggis" is read.

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dicht,
An' cut you up wi' ready slicht,
Trenching your gushing entrails bricht,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sicht,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmaist! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit" hums.

Is there that o're his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect scunner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his wallie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whistle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thristle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,

Gie her a haggis!

At the end of the poem there is a whisky toast to the Haggis. Then the meal is consumed.

The meal itself is Haggis served with mashed potato known as tatties and mashed neep which are turnip if you are in Scotland or Suede if you are south of the border!

When the meal reaches the coffee stage there is a toast to the Monarch . After the meal an "Immortal Memory" takes place. This is usually a speech on the life and poetry works of Robert Burns and the evening concludes with the singing of Auld Lang Syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne* ?

CHORUS: 

For auld lang syne, 

my jo, for auld lang syne, 

we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, 

for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp !
and surely I’ll be mine !
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pu’d the gowans fine ;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,
frae morning sun till dine ;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere !
and gie's a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Haggis can be found in most super markets here in the UK. They are usually found on the fresh meat counters and can be frozen. I routinely have at least two in the freezer. They do need defrosting before cooking.

Picture of ready cooked Haggis

Haggis can be cooked in a variety of ways

1. Haggis can be cooked on the hob, in a pan of boiled water. As soon as the water boils reduce the heat and add the Haggis, with the water simmering it takes around an hour. 
2. Haggis can also be cooked in the oven, remove from the plastic casing and wrap in tin foil. Place the Haggis into an oven proof dish with a little water and cook, usually for around an hour. 
3. Haggis can also be cooked via the microwave, I usually remove the outer plastic and skin, and don't forget the metal clips at the ends! Cut the Haggis into small segments and cook on full power. Length of time will vary depending on your microwave. 

Haggis Pie

Cook Suede and Potatoes
Haggis cooked for about 3 minutes in the microwave (mine is 900w)
Cut Haggis into sections and place in bottom of a dish, I use a Lasagna dish
Mash Suede and place on top of Haggis
Mash potato and place on top of Suede.
Place in Oven for (mine is fan assisted) so 20 minutes until nice and brown.

Wee Beestie!

Cook Haggis and break into bits with a fork.
Serve on a bed of mashed potato and mashed suede (neep)
cover with cheese sauce and a light dusting of black pepper to taste

Haggis is available in most supermarkets in the UK as either fresh or in some cases in tinned form. In the US it is available, certainly a few examples of companies that have a US outlets or ship to the US are  - http://www.scottishhaggis.com/index.aspx  

 - http://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/  

 - http://www.britishdelights.com/

(I have no financial gain from the companies mentioned.)

Taking part in Weekend Cooking hosted by BethFishReads

Hitler's Furies by Wendy Lower

About six weeks ago I wrote this post, Where Ever the Road Leads, prompted to do so having read an article in the newspaper about the book shown here.

I was therefore interested to come across a podcast of the author being interviewed, which I have embedded here.

Very interesting and thought provoking.

Tracing Your House History by Gill Blanchard

I was recently given a copy of this book to review and what a delight it was.

This book is more than a guide to researching the history of your house, or a house of interest. It is a font of interest if you are seeking to research and understand the social and domestic lives of people and their communities from early times.

The book is comprehensively laid out over 7 chapters and gently walks readers and researchers through where to find information. Starting with indexes, catalogue's and transcriptions before moving along to finding archives in Records offices, local history libraries, heritage, local and family history organisations and numerous on line resources.

The section on dating your home and house style is very comprehensive, starting with looking at architects and their role and then moving along to dating a building.

This nicely links into the third chapter which features architecture styles across the ages, commencing with Prehistoric through Norman, Medieval, Tudor, Stuart, Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian times. This chapter also looks at Modern homes, before moving onto discuss and provide resources for model villages, Garden Cities and Philanthropic Schemes, new towns and council housing. Also touched upon is the Public Health and slum clearances, why they were necessary and what gave rise to them in the first place along with locating the redevelopment and clearance records.

The book progresses to the process of building local knowledge, by looking at local histories, the importance of oral histories, local tales & legends and the foundations they can provide in research. This is followed by two important areas; finding out about local history and then about the resources of Societies, groups and information. Moving on from that is a section that looks at the visuals of such a study; photographs and postcards, along with paintings and drawings which add illustrative social context to your study.

Chapter 5 is a very full and comprehensive chapter on resources. Many will be already known to family historians, such as Birth, Marriage and Death records, Parish records, and Census returns. Also included is business and occupation records, directories and gazetteers, Electoral registers and poll books, Fire Insurance records, Glebe and estate records. Various taxes are looked at, such as Hearth, Window and Land taxes. Land registry, deeds, Manorial records, Maps and plans. The National Farm Survey 1941-1943 which is a an often neglected source in family history research, Quarter session records, Land Owner returns 1873 – 1876 and Valuation Office Survey 1910 – 1920 and finally Wills. A real bonus for this chapter is the inclusion of the useful and comprehensive time frame for each resource.

The final two chapters deal with how you can present and write your own house history, but similarly this can apply should you be researching a One-Place study, before moving along to the directory of resources looking at Organisations, Websites and a selected Bibliography. There is an index at the end of the book.

All the way through there are illustrations in black and white with links to numerous and various web pages.

This book has been thoroughly researched and presented; and I believe it should be considered the book for those researching houses or a One-Place Study. It was a true delight to read and review.

Disclaimer – I was provided with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Those Thursday Places - One Place Studies

I recently had cause to contemplate the actual definition of a one place study. Having had the question presented I stopped, thought and debated.

I have an interest in three individual places

• Puttenham in Surrey (linked to the nearby parish of Wanborough). I have family connections to the parish from 1724.
• Sutera in Sicily which is central to my particular Orlando ancestry, Orlando being one of my one name studies
• Walnut Tree Close in Guildford Surrey linked to my family history, but the study started in 1984 before my genealogical interest became formalised.

In each of these studies I am interested in the people, places, buildings, occupations and much, much more.

In all three of these cases I am genealogically linked, but in a similar vein I am interested in the history of my house, but do not plan to proceed to the next level and study the town in which I live. The reason for that is that despite living here I do not feel a connection to the town.

Do you need to feel a "connection" to your study?

I don't know if it is vital, but I think there needs to be an question or X  factor, a link, a catalyst that makes us ask the question or at least be interested in the area.  The moment we ask that question or we start digging into archives we are probably on the point of no return!

Over the years I have gathered information about Lockerbie in Scotland. I feel no particular connection to the town, but my husband does. It is also the site of the air disaster in 1988 and therefore I have been interested in the various aspects of the history of the area. I have visited the memorial gardens many times.

I say gardens because there are more than one. There is a central monument located at the cemetery to all those who lost their lives, over 270 people; all those on the plane and several residents whose lives and homes were desecrated as the fuselage came to rest on the ground in Lockerbie. There is a memorial garden located where the houses were and there is a memorial room at the nearby hamlet of Tundergarth where the majority of the fuselage came to rest.

So over the last 20 years I have visited the gardens, photographed the memorial and plaques and paid my respects with my husband. My husband lost a friend in the disaster. Despite that connection, albeit, third hand I have no interest on taking that interest to a more formal level. 

There are other places, either towns or villages, specific buildings or buildings of a specific nature that hold an interest for me. The interest is there as perhaps peripheral research; flesh on the bones of other research.

I still have not come up with a definitive definition of a one place study and in broad terms I doubt anyone will. Each study will be different in terms of content and reasoning. There will obviously be common factors, such as the records available - parish records, census, maps; naming just a few.

Ultimately if you research for whatever reason an area, and gather a mixture of information depending on why your are researching, regardless if you are coming to the project with a genealogical or historical mindset, or a mixture of the two, then you are probably doing a one place study.

Welcome aboard!

Haldon Aerodrome

Today has been a lovely day. We took Alfie upto Haldon, which is owned by the National Trust and was the site of Haldon Aerodrome

Marker with details of the Aerodrome

Alfie, kicking up the grass!

View across Haldon towards the sea

View across Haldon

New England Captives Carried to Canada 1677 - 1760 by Emma Louise Coleman

A few weeks ago I received a lovely message to say that my name had been selected by Fieldstone Common and I had won a copy of New England Captives carried to Canada between 1677 - 1760 by Emma Louise Coleman and published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Because of the time difference I, more often than not listen to the Fieldstone Common radio shows from the recording, and sometimes I not often a week or two late in listening.

This is the link to this episode, broadcast on 11th April which tells you a little about the book -

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fieldstonecommon/2013/04/11/new-england-captives-carried-to-canada-with-donald-friary

I am actually no stranger to the book. Back when I undertook my history degree this book, well the original two volumes that were published in 1925 were in fact on the reading list from the lecturer. Ironically no copy of these volumes existed in the university library, nor in any library within easy access of the south west of England.

This particular book is the republished complete volumes of those 1925 books. So how lucky am I?

The book arrived today, just before lunchtime to a pretty miserable south west England, so I whilst I my lunch I started to dip into this very interesting book.  Clearly I was so distracted as I had nearly finished my  ham roll, before I realised that I had forgotten to put the ham in!

At immediate first glance, it does look a really interesting book, which contains as much biographical data as was available about these individuals. In addition there is information on the social and economic aspects of the geography and the impact of the relationships between the natives and the new immigrants to the region.

What are you doing on Sunday?

Sunday 12th May 2013 hosts an opportunity to submit a one day diary to the Mass Observation Study.

You can read about the history of The Mass Observation Project HERE and can see the details of submitting a one day diary for Sunday 13th May.

Below is a small video of the submissions that were made to a similiar event, back on 12th May 2010.



How to take part: (details from the Mass Observation Project)

• Diaries MUST be in electronic form - emails or as email attachments (as word documents or pdfs, preferably)
• You should include a brief self portrait: your age, where you live, whether you are married or single, your present job or occupation if you are working and any other information that you think is important to record.
• If 12th May was a typical day for you please say so. If not, please say why it wasn’t. Any reflections on the day and on how you felt while keeping the diary are welcome.
• So that we can add your diary to the rest of the Archive for the future, please include the statement below at the end of your diary. If you don’t attach this statement, we won’t be able to keep your diary or make it part of the Archive.

“I donate my 12th May diary to the Mass Observation Archive. I consent to it being made publicly available as part of the Archive and assign my copyright in the diary to the Mass Observation Archive Trustees so that it can be reproduced in full or in part on websites, in publications and in broadcasts as approved by the Trustees"

Please submit your responses by email moa@sussex.ac.uk

A La Ronde, Exmouth Devon

Over the bank holiday weekend, we visited the National Trust house of A La Ronde, a delightful 16 sided house built in 1796 for two spinster cousins, Jane and Mary Parminter.

According to my journal, we last visited on 11th June 2000, although I do not remember much of the visit apart from the room of shells which is located on the very top level of the house and is currently closed off to visitors because of damage to the shell walls, which is in need of repair.

The Cousins, Mary and Jane Parminter had the house built in 1796 after they completed their 10 year Grand Tour of Europe. The shape of the house enabled the ladies to move through the house as the daylight and sun moved. They had an amazing view over the Exe estuary.

A glimpse through the trees and flowers of the Exe estuary

Much of the house contains artifacts from their tour, along with picture and early photographs of relatives and  artifacts given to them as gifts by other family members. The Cousins lived on the ground floor of the house only, the middle floor was used mainly for storage and then they used the top room, completely decorated with shells.

Here are various photographs from inside the house.

Quilt made by the Cousins for Mary's brother

Music Room

Alcove of books leading to the Library

The last surviving original radiator  - situated in the Library

Library, along with books the cabinet is filled with curios.

The stairs were very small to navigate, but they arrived into what was originally a storage room. Along the same corridor was a bathroom.

From this corridor there are stairs which gives access to the room of shells. Sadly, access is prohibited due to the damage to the shells, but there is a restoration project underway. These two photos hopefully give an idea of the room of shells.

Stairs leading up to the room of shells

An indication of the shell decoration - photograph taken
from the bottom of the stairs.

Back downstairs, the rooms are accessed from a central, circular hall, again with views, glimpses to the shell gallery.

There was a dining room, a pantry and a drawing room.

Drawing Room

Drawing Room

Dining Room

As the shell gallery is not available to visitors, the National Trust have videoed the room. I managed to take a few photographs of the video.

The kitchen is downstairs and has been utilised to enable the customary tea room to function.

The house passed through the family, only to the unmarried female relatives. At some point the house was passed to a husband of a married female relative who put the house on the market. By coincidence, two spinster sisters related to the Parminter cousins became aware of that and purchased the house and it remained in family hands until it was placed in the hands of the National Trust.

The house displays how women who were financially stable occupied their time during this period. The Cousins were talented and many of their drawings and paintings hang through the house.

Miss Jane Parminter was born in Lisbon in 1750 the daughter of Richard Parminter of Barnstable. In 1773 Jane became guardian to her cousin Mary and on the death of Jane's younger sister the two women decided to make their home in Devon where they had A La Ronde built.  Soon after they moved into the house the cousins bought some land where they had erected a chapel, almshouse and school.

Pop over to Grave Encounters to read about the Chapel, know as the Point in View Chapel

The Fishing Fleet – Anne de Courcy

When the author was undertaking her research we did correspond rather briefly, but my interest regarding my ancestral links to India was out of the time frame for Anne's book.

I waited rather eagerly for the book to be published. Once it hit the shelves of my local library I managed to grab the book and then quietly enjoy it.

The book looks at women who migrated to India looking for a husband during the period of the mid 19th Century until 1947, when India gained it's Independence.

I loved the colour of the cover which for me set the tone of the book. I enjoyed the depth of the research, which was gathered from letters and memoirs of the time and the focus of the book.

There is a suitable explanation of why the women were there, and why they risked travelling the globe to find a husband, but there was little detail on how the women adapted to the change in culture and their experiences. The author further explores the processes in India at this time, the bureaucracy of India and mixed raced children and how they were viewed.

Despite all that, I was a little disappointed. There is little scope given to how these women coped, not only with the country and culture, but also how they experienced married life with the men they met in India. I felt as though the author ran out of steam with the subject matter before the end of the book.

I enjoyed it, but it could have been better.

A Parcel of Ribbons by Anne M. Powers

Back in the summer I had the opportunity to interview Anne M. Powers, author of the fascinating book A Parcel of Ribbons. You can read that interview HERE. 

Anne also very kindly sent me a copy of her book to read and review and what a treat it was! I am only sorry that it has taken so long to post the review.

The catalyst for the book was a series of letters that have survived the test of time. Anne was given access to these letters and they have been lovingly transcribed and form the foundation for the book.

What has developed, is a really beautiful story of the Lee family and their time in Jamaica. Their story has not only been recorded and survived, but has been further explored which absolutely enhances the experience of understanding the social, International and domestic situation of the time.

The book contains a few illustrations along with a very comprehensive bibliography and index.

The research has been thorough and there is a huge attention to detail within the confines of the cover. If you wish to research, record and publish your own ancestry then aspiring to produce a book just like this one would be a wonderful way to preserve your ancestry.

A Parcel of Ribbons - The Letters of an 18th Century family in London & Jamaica was published in July 2012 and is available from HERE

Anne's website to accompany the book is at http://aparcelofribbons.co.uk/

Favourite Historical Fiction set in the United Kingdom

When, over at Historical Tapestry we first discussed the concept of a series of posts about our favourite historical fictional writing centred in our home country I wondered and debated on whether to feature the United Kingdom or simply England. I could not decide and then set about simply jotting down some favourite titles and authors and it is those first notes that is the basis for this post.

First up is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. The UK version of the first book was published as Cross Stitch. The series is fascinating and incorporates a variety of genres in addition to historical fiction. They span the the post war years in Scotland and then one of the central characters suddenly finds herself in the 18th Century Scotland and latterly America.

I started reading the series in about 2005 and was not sure it was my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed the first book and since then I have read the rest of the series and the secondary mini series which is about another of the central characters. The books are very well researched and whilst they include a degree of fantasy they are full of historical facts. I am now impatiently awaiting the publication of the latest book in the series, due to be published in January 2013.

Another series is by the very well known author Cynthia Harrod Eagles. The Morland Series caught my eye about 10 years ago. Since then I have read the first two and because I am slightly obsessive I am striving to locate the complete series before I start to read them in order. I did read recently that the publisher was planning to cease publication beyond book number 34 which is a huge shame and I do hope that decision is not final. Sadly I could not locate the author's website, but did manage to find a full listing of the books in the series HERE.

I recently was introduced to the fascinating series by Philippa Gregory as my local book group are currently reading The White Queen which is the first in the Cousin's War Series. Having been drawn in by this book, I explored the author's website and was delighted to see a whole list of further reading to explore, other books to read, chapters to download and even an iPhone app. I also note, somewhat excitedly that The White Queen is to be made into a BBC Drama, to be broadcast in the UK in 2013.



A book which I read a few years ago was The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. This was based upon a true event which happened in the Wiltshire in 1860. What I loved about this book was the fact that I could actually trace the events through historical documentation which appeals to my genealogical mind. The book was made into a mini series about a year ago and was broadcast here in the UK. You can read an extract and a bit more about the book HERE.

Currently in my rather large supply of library books I have a real door stop of a book - New York by Edward Rutherford. As I moved it this morning it reminded me that in this rather loose series based upon locations, the author has written three books set in England, the first is Sarum which is essentially set at Stonehenge and Salisbury.

The second is The Forest which is a spin off to Sarum and is set in the New Forest.

The third book is London. A fictional attempt to follow the history of the capital from early times to more current events, essentially 2,000 years of history.










I hope you would agree that these are some great books. I can think of a few more, but perhaps you would like to share your favourite historical fiction set within the United Kingdom.

Postcard Friendship Friday - Postcard Collection and Archive

I spotted a week or two ago, an article in the local paper - The Western Morning News, which is the regional newspaper for Devon and Cornwall, about a postcard collection relating to boxing memorabilia in Plymouth.

This particular collection belonged to the boxer Archie Smith, whose real name was Archie Le-Santo. The collection of 82 cards was left to his daughter when he died and is going to the auction rooms on 3rd September and is expected to fetch between £200 & £300.

Western Morning News 23rd August 2011

Submitted as part of Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by The Best Hearts are Crunchy