Book reviews

[Elaine ..Spain]

We are looking to develop the Family History Books section in the Reference Library with the addition of more book reviews which can be found on the following pages:

• Historical non-fiction
• Historical fiction
• Family History Research

I am sure many of us have a collection of history or family history related books on our bookshelves, or have borrowed some from family, friends on the local library.
Would you like to write a short review of a book you have read?
Did you enjoy it?
Would you recommend it?

Please post your book reviews on this thread and we will transfer it to the relevant page in the Reference Library.

Thanks.

[Tom Tom]

I think this is a great idea Elaine and I will certainly contribute over the next few weeks.

[Elaine ..Spain]

Thanks Tom. I've got a few of my own to add as well.

[Christine in Herts]

I may well have one or two of my own.

What about family history database CDs, software and the like? Is there a review slot for those?

Christine

[Elaine ..Spain]

What about family history database CDs, software and the like? Is there a review slot for those?
Christine

Nothing at the moment - will have a think and get back to you.

[Christine in Herts]

Nothing at the moment - will have a think and get back to you.

Don't panic about it! I'm not likely to get anything done very soon, even there is a slot!

Christine

[Anne in Carlisle]

Anyone with ancestor who worked in mining should read "Children of the Dark", by Alan Gallop (Sutton Publishing Ltd 2003)

It is about the Huskar Pit disaster in 1838 near Barnsley, Yorkshire when 26 child workers died in a flash flood underground. (I actually have a slight connection to one of the children). Not only does the book set the scene in a semi-fictionalised way about the life and conditions of the miners, but it also has lots of details about the inquest and investigation into the tragedy which illustrate the attitudes of the mine owners and others in authority at that time. As a result, in 1842, the labour laws were changed to exclude women and children from working underground.

Anne

[Jill on the A272]

William Allen, Quaker Friend of Lindfield by Margaret Nicolle £8.95
This book mixes the biography of the Quaker philanthropist and Anti-Slavery campaigner with the history of his influence in the village of Lindfield, Sussex. Allen was successful in gaining sponsors in order to set up an industrial school and allotment and small holding plots in Lindfield in the 1820s as an alternative to emigration to the colonies to escape rural poverty. The settlements continued well after his death in 1843, the last cottages survived until the 1950s. The book contains photographs, maps, illustrations of contemporary documents and political cartoons of the time.

Available from the author’s website though I got mine from Bookstop, the Lindfield bookshop behind the greengrocers
http://www.williamallenquaker.co.uk/

[Barbara Dodds]

Steel Bonnets by George Macdonald Fraser

This gives a good overview of the border reivers and will provide background information for anyone who has ancestors from the area north of Hadrians Wall into Southern Scotland. The book was first recommended to me by OC

[kathsgirl.48]

Anyone with Irish ancestry should read at least one of the books about The 1916 Uprising.

I knew that at least one of my Grandfather’s brothers was involved and held at Frongoch Camp in Wales which prompted me to purchase the book below.

Much to my surprise I found no mention of his name but discover another brother listed!
F. Pollard of 31 Lower Dominick St, Dublin is listed in the 1916 Rebellion Handbook. He was amongst the 289 prisoners who were removed from Richmond Barracks, Dublin on 30th April and lodged in Stafford Detention Barracks on 1st May.

Louisa O'Sullivan is also mentioned in the 1916 Rebellion Handbook as being one of 64 Women who were released by the military authorities after having their cases fully investigated on the 22nd May. Is this where Louisa met her future husband, Francis Pollard who was also arrested or were they already known to one another? They were married in 1920 in Dublin.

Many soldiers from Britain lost their lives during the 1916 Uprising.

1916 REBELLION HANDBOOK
First published 1916 by Weekly Irish Times
The edition I have, Published 1998 by The Mourne River Press

Contents.
A complete and connected narrative of the Rising with detailed accounts of the fighting at ALL points.
Story of the Great Fire, with lists of premises involved.
Military & Rebellion Proclamations and Despatches.
Punishment of Rebels – full Record of sentences.
Casualties – Official lists of Military, Royal Irish Constabulary, Dublin Metropolitan Police, Volunteer Training Corps and Rebels.
Names of Persons Interred in Cemeteries.
Official Lists of Prisoners Deported and Released.

Special Map - Illustrating the area of fighting

Despatches of Sir John Maxwell & Viscount French.
Honours, Promotions and Awards to Military, Police & Civilians.
Courts Martial at Richmond Barracks – Reports of Public Trials.
Sir Roger Casement’s Landing, Capture, Trial & Execution.
Hardinge Commission of Enquiry – Evedence & Report.
Simon Commission of Enquiry – Evidence & Report.
Works of the Hospitals – St John Ambulance – City and County of Dublin Red Cross Societies – Lists of names.
Facimile Reproduction of Rebel Proclamations.
Names of Prisoners Released under General Amnesty.
Photographs, Personal Notes and New Index

[Joy Dean]

Beginning Your Family History by George Pelling
and
The Family Tree Detective - Tracing your ancestors in England and Wales by Colin D. Rogers.

At the very start of our active research into our ancestral families, we borrowed these books from the library and then decided to buy them. They give excellent tips on how to do things at the beginning of researching and for when one becomes more experienced, too. I would recommend them both; they are really useful reference books.

[Anne in Carlisle]

Here's another one with a coal mining background and an astonishing Family History story as well. A cracking read!

"Black Diamonds" The Rise and Fall of an English Dynasty by Catherine Bailey

It is about the Fitzwilliam family of Wentworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The title Earl Fitzwilliam goes back centuries but the book concentrates on the 19th and 20th centuries. The title lapsed (when the 10th Earl died) in 1979 after an extraordinary series of family events! The Fitzwilliams were owners of a huge estate, massive stately home and some coal mines. They were locally regarded as comparitavely reasonable mine owners. The book has detailed descriptions of the lives of miners, both in the Fitzwilliam pits and in other (much worse) ones nearby. It also describes the miners strikes in the early 20C and the period leading up to Nationalisation.

Anne

[PhotoFamily]

I know what subjects I'd like to read more about:
Family Research thru Guild records
Strategies for finding family information from late 1700 and early 1800 London/Middlesex
Guide to records - types of records and where they're located.

I know some of these exist - I just don't know them.

[Elaine ..Spain]

Thanks everyone. Your reviews have been added to the following pages.

• Historical non-fiction
• Historical fiction
• Family History Research

Look forward to reading some more, so keep them coming!

[SteveRobinson]

Thanks everyone. Your reviews have been added to the following pages.

• Historical non-fiction
• Historical fiction
• Family History Research

Look forward to reading some more, so keep them coming!

Hello Elaine,

I write fiction in the mystery/thriller crime genres with a genealogical angle. I was recommended to Family Tree Forum by a genealogist who had read my eBook recently, saying that you have a book recommendations section within the forum. I wanted to ask if it would be okay to tell other forum members about my book, or perhaps you could add the details to your books section. I published two months ago with Amazon for Kindle and for other formats through Smashwords. The book is called "In the Blood (A genealogical crime mystery) and on Amazon.co.uk it is currently ranked 531 in the kindle store with 39 reviews and an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars. It's about a genealogist who sets out to investigate a discrepancy in his clients family tree and it something that I believe Family Tree Forum members would enjoy. Here's a link if you would like to see the details on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-genea...3674537&sr=8-1

Best wishes,
Steve Robinson.

[Elaine ..Spain]

Steve, welcome to Family Tree Forum.
If you would like to submit a short review of your book I will add it to the appropriate page in our reference library.

[SteveRobinson]

Thanks Elaine,

Here is the description on Amazon:

IN THE BLOOD (A genealogical crime mystery).

Print Length: 344 pages (at 320 words per page). Words: 110,000.

DESCRIPTION

Family history was never supposed to be like this...

A dark genealogical secret locked in the past. A family historian trying to unlock it. Trouble is, someone else is looking for the same answers and they will stop at nothing to find them.

When American genealogist, Jefferson Tayte, accepted his latest assignment, he had no idea it might kill him. “I’m a family historian for Christ sakes!” But while murder was never part of the curriculum, Tayte is kidding himself if he thinks he can walk away from this one.

Driven by the all-consuming irony of being a genealogist who doesn’t even know who his own parents are, Tayte soon finds that the assignment shares a stark similarity to his own struggle. Someone has gone to great lengths to erase an entire family bloodline from recorded history and he’s not going home until he’s found out why. After all, if he’s not good enough to find this family, how can he ever expect to be good enough to someday find his own?

Set in Cornwall, England, past and present, Tayte's research centres around the tragic life of a young Cornish girl, a writing box, and the discovery of a dark family secret that he believes will lead him to the family he is looking for.

Link to In the Blood on Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-genea...3674537&sr=8-1

[Elaine ..Spain]

Thanks Steve. Added to our Historical fiction page

[borobabs]

Thanks Elaine,

Here is the description on Amazon:

IN THE BLOOD (A genealogical crime mystery).

Print Length: 344 pages (at 320 words per page). Words: 110,000.

DESCRIPTION

Family history was never supposed to be like this...

A dark genealogical secret locked in the past. A family historian trying to unlock it. Trouble is, someone else is looking for the same answers and they will stop at nothing to find them.

When American genealogist, Jefferson Tayte, accepted his latest assignment, he had no idea it might kill him. “I’m a family historian for Christ sakes!” But while murder was never part of the curriculum, Tayte is kidding himself if he thinks he can walk away from this one.

Driven by the all-consuming irony of being a genealogist who doesn’t even know who his own parents are, Tayte soon finds that the assignment shares a stark similarity to his own struggle. Someone has gone to great lengths to erase an entire family bloodline from recorded history and he’s not going home until he’s found out why. After all, if he’s not good enough to find this family, how can he ever expect to be good enough to someday find his own?

Set in Cornwall, England, past and present, Tayte's research centres around the tragic life of a young Cornish girl, a writing box, and the discovery of a dark family secret that he believes will lead him to the family he is looking for.

Link to In the Blood on Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-genea...3674537&sr=8-1

Hi is this book available in print as well as we don't all have kindles ??? Thanks

[chrisj1961]

have just downloaded to my kindle thank you very much - looks interesting :)