I’ve been continuing to recheck the paper trail to identify as many of my third cousins as possible (people with whom I share a great great grandparent), prior to receiving my Family Finder DNA results in January. When a couple marry in 1863 and have eight children, you would expect that, more than 150 years later, there would be descendants scattered far and wide, well I would. This is my family we are talking about – not so. Today’s third cousin hunt centres on the descendants of my direct male line, great great grandparents William Braund aka Jeffery and Isabella Jane née Nicholls. They had six sons and two daughters. I concentrated on trying to establish how many of these siblings produced descendants in my generation i.e. my third cousins. I have rigorously researched this line in the past and today’s re-check confirmed that I have found all those who are there to be found (barring any illegitimate offspring who were a very well kept secret).
The boys were particularly easy to follow up: one died as a child, three never married, one had two sons but no grandchildren and the other was my own ancestor who produced me and only me, in my generation. That left the two daughters, one of whom died as a teenager. From the other there are just six third cousins, I have been in contact with the father of four of them for many years (my second cousin once removed) and I have found two of them on Facebook but not taken the plunge and made contact yet. It seems strange that so many branches of my family have shrunk and I have fewer third cousins than most people have first cousins. I guess it makes tracing them a more practical proposition.I’d be really interested in anyone else’s third cousin count.
We are in sixteenth century Cornwall with today’s historical novelist, Cheryl Hayden. Her story is based on the Prayer Book Rebellion, which is not one of the well known events of history but had a huge impact on the far south-west. It features the Winslade family, who were large landowners in Cornwall and in parts of Devon including the north-west, where I now live. There is romance and adventure bound up in the plot, which falls into the category of ‘faction’. Cheryl has a background in journalism, so her meticulously researched and well written account is not a surprise. The Cornish setting is particularly well drawn, with believable phrases and dialect. This is especially praiseworthy as the author is an Australian. She is also an academic historian and the Winslade family form part of her doctoral research. Academics are normally very reluctant to praise popular writing in their field, let alone fiction and the fact that this novel has attracted very positive comments from professors of Cornish Studies is a testament to Cheryl’s work. Reading this book immediately made me want to find out more about the events that form the backdrop to the story. I understand that there may be a second novel featuring the Winslades in the future; another for my wanted list.
We are in Devon again for today’s historical novelist and the final genealogical sleuth of the advent calendar (there are others but there weren’t enough days). 
Today I offer you M V Hughes as my historical novelist. I am stretching the definition of the genre a little here as the books in her London series (yes, another series) are semi-autobiographical, despite the preface which claims that the characters are fictional. This tell the story of a late Victorian middle class family, who nonetheless have struggles of their own. Through A London Child of the 1870s, A London Girl of the 1880s, A London Home in the 1890s and finally, A London Family between the Wars, we become immersed in the life of the fictionalised recreation of Hughes’ own family. Molly Hughes was herself well educated, having attended Miss Buss’ North London Collegiate School, trained as a teacher and been awarded a BA, at a time when serious education for women was unusual. London Girl, in particular, provides a very interesting insight into girls’ education of the time. I read this series of four books, which were first published in the 1930s but were reprinted in the 1970s, before becoming aware that there was an earlier book Vivians. This was re-printed after the other four, so for me it was a prequel, even though it was originally published first. I actually think that reading it after the other four is the best order. This tells the story of Molly’s mother’s Cornish mining family and explains the background to the London novels, the first three of which are available as an omnibus volume. I found this excellent 
Another day, another historical novelist and again a writer based in Devon. 
Today’s historical novelist is one who held the rank of ‘favourite’ for many years and I eagerly awaited each new offering. E V Thompson released at least one book every year from his first Chase the Wind, in 1977 until his death in 2012 and I have all but the final half a dozen. Most of his books are set in Cornwall, although he does make use of his experiences in Africa to move to that continent for some of his books, notably those of his most famous Retallick saga. I can’t understand how this series has been overlooked by the makers of costume dramas. My liking for these books stems more from their geographical context than their historical background, which is predominantly Victorian. The reason that I abandoned the later books is because they were becoming a little formulaic with boy choosing between rich girl and poor girl in many of them. This makes them sound like romances and I don’t think that is a fair description. Some are fast paced adventure stories with a love interest thrown in.
Another Devonian author for today’s offering and this time we are in the first century BC as history and fantasy combine in 
Another genealogical mystery writer out of the advent box today. Again of course the books are set in the present but hark back to the past. So, let me introduce 
I need to be brief, lofts to empty, writing deadlines looming but I need to do justice to today’s historical novelist – Ariana Franklin and her Mistress of the Art of Death series. The heroine is Medieval anatomist Adelia Aguilar so another history/crime combination. To be an anatomist in the 1100s is unusual, to also be a female, adopted into a particularly free thinking family and hobnobbing with royalty does require a stretch of the imagination but not one that detracted from my enjoyment. Some anachronisms do creep into the twelfth century setting. This would normally annoy me beyond measure. The fact that it does not is a reflection of the other qualities of the writing. In The Death Maze Adelia becomes embroiled in royal intrigue as she investigates the poisoning of Henry II’s mistress Rosamund Clifford. The Assassin’s Prayer recounts another royal commission as she accompanies Princess Joanna on her way to a dynastic marriage in Sicily. Relics of the Dead sees Adelia trying to establish whether human remains are indeed those of King Arthur There are four books in the series, the last published posthumously and I am sad that there will be no more.
Ok, so I am going to cheat a little here. Give me a break it is hard working keeping this up on a daily basis in the season of 
