Social History Book Advent Calendar Day 6 – Going on a Witch Hunt

Dec6 by thehistoryinterpreter

As part of my seventeenth century life, I give presentations on the history of witchcraft. When I was researching the topic for Coffers, Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs: the lives of our seventeenth century ancestors, I read a number of excellent books on the subject. For the purposes of this advent calendar, I have chosen just one of them to share with you, Alan MacFarlane’s Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: a regional and comparative study. If you are a family historian who has not a single example of a witch or a bewitched in your family tree, please don’t think this would not be relevant to you. This was the atmosphere of the time and it is important to understand this. Another author on the subject, Malcolm Gaskill, wrote ‘Witch-hunts involved not just savage persecutors tormenting innocent scapegoats, but ordinary neighbours with a close affinity to one another who also happened to believe in witchcraft powerfully enough to act out their most violent fantasies.’ (Witchfinders: a seventeenth century English tragedy) – see it is buy one get one free day today!

Today though belongs to MacFarlane’s work. This is not just an account of the witchcraft trials of the period. He discusses the sources that can be used, the social background and the conditions that contributed to an increase in accusations. He also looks at the various ways in which people attempted to counter-act witchcraft. The emphasis is on the notorious trials in Essex but these are set in a wider context and the background is applicable elsewhere. I am fascinated by the psychology behind witchcraft accusations and its similarities to today’s culture of bullying. I strive to understand what made people of the past act in a particular way under certain circumstances, so I found the section on the ideology of witchcraft and the anthropological interpretations a particularly valuable addition. There are maps, tables and black and white illustrations throughout the book.

As part of the talk that I give, I include a list of the known indictments for the county in which I am speaking. It was as I was preparing the Devon list, when I first gave this talk, that I spotted a name on the list that also appeared on my family tree. Joanna Elford was baptised in Mary Tavy, Devon in 1612. She was the sister of my 9 x great grandfather. Last week I took the opportunity to try to find out more. In 1671 Johanna or Joan Elford was accused of ‘laming and pining’ Alice Paynter (I presume that Alice was claiming that some form of paralysis and a sensation of being pricked were a result of being bewitched by Johanna). I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that Johanna got off, as this means less documentation. I still can’t be positive that it is the same Johanna/Joan Elford but it is a very unusual name. I am waiting to see if there is any further detail at The National Archives but it may be a long wait as I have no plans to visit in the immediate future. I could be tempted to base a novel round witchcraft accusations but I had better finish the current novel first!

Social History Book Advent Calendar Day 3 and Coming up Trumps

Dec3 by thehistoryinterpreter

As regular readers will know, I am very keen on encouraging the younger generation to take an interest in history and heritage. One of the ideas in my booklet Harnessing the Facebook Generation: ideas for involving young people in family history and heritage* is to use family photographs to make Top Trumps cards. I thought, now that I have grandchildren who are old enough to play this, I would put the idea in to practice. There are available templates online but in the end I made up my own and I found 38 photographs of members of the family tree that could be used. I know I am fortunate to have so many pictures but they are rather one-sided, the vast majority coming from my maternal grandmother’s family. If you don’t have enough pictures you could always use pictures of where they lived or drawings (I did wonder about gravestones but maybe not for 3 & 4 year olds!). I decided not to limit it to direct ancestors, partly because then I wouldn’t have enough but also because I wanted to commemorate 4x great aunts who died childless and would otherwise have no one to remember them.

I did have some problems. The cards, are printed on paper and laminated as my printer won’t take card. This is not ideal and you can see through the backs of the cards but this doesn’t matter because of the way that the game is played. The cards are also a bit of a strange shape and it was incredibly difficult to get them all exactly the same size. It probably took me best part of a day to produce two sets. Yes, I could have gone to a pound shop and bought sets of Top Trumps but that would not be the same on so many levels.

We have yet to try these out with the target audience, as they will see the light of day at Christmas. I know in one case I shall have to somehow make the ancestors relate to robots – I am still working on that bit!

On the topic of Trumps – Twitter came up trumps yesterday. I was busy with the arrest scene in #Daisy aka Barefoot on the Cobbles and wanted to know what wording was used in a caution in 1919. I made a Twitter request and sure enough I woke up to eighteen responses including the answer! Incidentally, Daisy will soon have her own page on this website. As it is a ‘based on fact’ novel, I have a large number of old photographs of the characters and the landscape in which the story is embedded. I will be putting some of these online over the next few months – watch this space – well not exactly this space but the space on the website that doesn’t quite exist yet.

From my bookshelf today I offer you Sara Read’s Maids, Wives, Widows: exploring early modern women’s lives. This is a complete guide to how women lived in the period 1540-1740. It covers their day to day activities both domestic and cultural, employment, both paid and unpaid, childbirth and childrearing and much more. The author has used a wide range of contemporary sources in her research and there is a very useful bibliography. The book is illustrated with black and white plates. Inevitably, any social history of this period is relying on sources that tend towards the better off but nonetheless this is a wonderful book for family historians who want to bring their female ancestors to life, for historical novelists looking for background for powerful female characters or for those who just like to immerse themselves in the past. The Amazon link gives you the option of a quick ‘Look Inside’ preview – go for it. I predict that Alex in New Zealand – who is seeing how far through December she can get without buying one of my suggestions – may succumb at this point. There may well be another offering from Sara Read behind a later advent ‘window.’

(Available from me, from the publishers or as an ebook. It is also available via UK and Canadian outlets.)

Social History Book Advent Calendar Day 1 and a bit about Medical Procedures

Dec1 by thehistoryinterpreter

It is December, my descendants have snow, so it must be time for something seasonal. Last year I shared some of my favourite historical novels in my blog ‘advent calendar’; this year it is the turn of non-fiction. Family historians, historical novelists and history fans in general need to immerse themselves in the past; these are books that help you to do just that. For the next twenty four days I will share with you a book that has helped me to evoke a past era. I have just pulled volumes from my bookshelves, so the historical periods will be varied and the choices eclectic. Some of the posts will be very brief and they will be interspersed with other randomness but here goes.

Today’s offering is Dorothy Hartley’s Food in England: a complete guide to the food that makes us who we are. The book was first published in 1954 but unless you are interested in food history in the later twentieth century, this does not matter. The fact that it is still in print underlines the value of Hartley’s work. If you want to know what we used to eat and how it would have been cooked here is a substantial 676 page volume that will come to your aid. There is a chronological thread throughout the book, beginning with the contribution of the Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans to our diet. There are line drawings to illustrate, amongst other things, cooking methods, breeds of sheep and techniques, such as scalding a pig. In addition there are plates showing kitchens an dining through the ages. There are also chapters on various groups of ingredients, including meat, vegetables, bread, dairy produce and drink. It is no secret that my culinary ‘skills’ are minimal and that I have no interest whatsoever in food preparation in the present. I do however find historic cookery fascinating. So although this is a book that the cooks amongst you will enjoy, it is also valuable if you want to know what your ancestors ate and how they would have prepared it. If you are an historical fiction writer and you want to make sure that the characters in your novel aren’t eating an anachronistic meal or if you are staging an event that involves period food, this book is highly recommended.

In other seasonal news, I thought that I would relate the saga of the flu injection. I am officially too young for this – just thought I’d make that point – but various health weirdnesses mean that I get invited by a disembodied, automated voice to have a needle jabbed in my arm. In fact no one seems to have told said automaton that I have actually now had my injection, as she is still ringing me up at various intervals. I digress. My appointment is for 10.41. I turn up at 10.30 to be told that the staff are about to have their coffee break but I can be booked in. ‘Booking in’ involves a tick being put against my name and being handed a piece of paper listing potential nastinesses associated with said injection. I sit down and the receptionist disappears for her caffine fix. A man comes to sit in her place. I have no idea of his rank but clearly most things are above his pay grade. He spends the next fifteen minutes repeating 30-40 times ‘I can’t book you in please take a seat and wait. The receptionist will be back in 15, 14, 13 (whatever) minutes. What is so difficult about ticking a name and handing over a piece of paper? Is the receptionist’s union going to object if someone usurps her role? It can’t be a data protection thing because everyone is here for a flu injection and they all go to reception and give the chap their name. Why have a person there at all? Why not just write a notice? During the next fifteen minutes forty people enter the surgery and no one leaves. The patients’ nearest and dearest, sat in cars outside, must be wondering if we are all being swallowed up in some vaccinatory black hole. I begin to feel quite sorry for the guy on the front desk. In the end the ‘audience’ are giggling hysterically as he repeats his message, using exactly the same words and intonation, for the umpteenth time. The joys of getting old.

Daisies, Blue Poppies and other Flights of Floral Fancy

Sep4 by thehistoryinterpreter

I am excited to announce that I will be working with Blue Poppy Publishing to bring #Daisy to a discerning audience. Who am I kidding? There’s no need to be discerning. Blue Poppy focuses on local authors and was founded by Ollie Tooley who was one of the historical novelists that I chose for my advent calendar last year. Do check out the Blue Poppy website and like their Facebook page. Publication date is set for November 2018. That may seem like a long way off – please tell me it is a long way off – but it means that I have a deadline that is considerably before that. I am going to need to up my production rate.

I have finished off a chapter this weekend. It had stalled because I was unable to identify which Bideford house one of my main characters worked in in the 1890s. It’s a novel, does it matter? Ah but it mattered to me. I have finally worked it out so can wax lyrical about the cream bricks and arched windows phew. You learn so much researching historical novels. I now know when telegraph boys started using bicycles and what the stair well in front of the servants’ door is called. I knew that anyway but had a crisis of confidence and needed to convince myself. A quick speed read of 96 pages of my battered copy of Upstairs Downstairs (yes they were books before it was a 1970s TV series) and I was vindicated – despite a certain amount of scepticism from a fisherman of my acquaintance.

Also on this weekend’s agenda, a research report for a client. To be honest, genealogical research for others is a very small part of what I do nowadays but this has been a fascinating case. There are reputed murders (several), actual murders (one), separations, confusing stage names and the longest service record I have ever seen (61 pages), complete with the soldier’s temperature chart.

DSCF3888 Then it was the village garden and produce show. I always try to get involved in community events. The cooking classes were clearly a non-starter. I hadn’t had time to create something crafty. As my garden is a wasteland, being as it is mid re-vamp, plant and vegetable classes were challenging. Fortunately I could fall back on my herb garden, which was made-over last year. So second prize for a posy of herbs, or Tuzzy-Muzzy as we say, I’ll take that. I am sure I should be Daisy writing rather than blog writing so that’s it for today. I wonder if I can get another chapter finished amongst two talks to present in two days and the return of the job we must not mention.

Writers in the Cabin

Apr18 by thehistoryinterpreter

The seven authors in our writers’ group are eagerly anticipating our forthcoming ‘Writers in a Cabin’ residence. Will we cope with the lack of electricity, phone signal and sanitation? How will we interact with the resident insect life? Will anyone want to come and say hello? As yet, all great imponderables, although some of us have already made up their minds about the spiders. In the hope of persuading you to spend time in a very special place and of course increasing the footfall for us, may I encourage you to read on?

Writers in Cabin flyer Nestled at the bottom of the hill in the little fishing hamlet of Bucks Mills, lies The Cabin. This two-roomed hut began life as a fisherman’s store before being acquired by Judith Ackland’s family. Together with her friend Mary Stella Edwards, Judith used the building as an artists’ retreat for half a century. The solitude and spectacular views across the rugged North Devon coastline make it ideal for those seeking inspiration. Now in the care of the National Trust, the Cabin is almost exactly as the artists left it in 1971.

From 29 April – 1 May, it will once again be a setting that encourages creative talents to flourish. Between 10.00 and 4.00, the seven members of the North Devon authors’ group will take it in turns to use the cabin and its wonderful surroundings as their muse. The work of all these writers is rooted the past, in the local landscape, or both. They look forward to discussing their work, both past and forthcoming and signing copies of their books. This will be a unique opportunity, not only to view inside The Cabin, which is rarely open to the public but also to talk to enthusiastic and friendly authors about their writing.

The Writers in the Cabin will be:

Ruth Downie writes crime novels set in Roman times. Ruth’s book Medicus has recently attracted a ‘Discovered Diamond’ award for historical fiction.

Susan Hughes writes books set in the first half of the twentieth century. Her debut novel A Kiss from France was long-listed for the Historical Novel Society Indie Award 2017. She is now writing her second book.

Wendy Percival is the author of mystery novels featuring genealogy sleuth Esme Quentin, which include The Indelible Stain, set on the North Devon coast, near Hartland.

P J Reed is a poet and author who writes of the beauty and ethereal nature of the changing countryside. Her latest anthology Flicker was published last month.

Liz Shakespeare’s books are inspired by the people, history and landscapes of Devon. Her latest novel The Postman Poet, which was launched last month, is based on the true story of Edward Capern who composed poems and songs whilst delivering letters in Victorian North Devon.

Pamela Vass writes North Devon based fiction and social history. Her novel Seeds of Doubt debates whether the Lynmouth floods of 1952 were an Act of God or the Act of Man.

and Me!

Day 18 – more from Loftgate and another Genealogical Sleuth to Unwrap

Dec18 by thehistoryinterpreter

Chuffed to find that my In-depth Genealogists’ blog post about twentieth century research was picked up as a favourite read of the week in the ‘writing’ category by the Family Locket blog. Yesterday was the annual Devon Family History Society (North Devon group) quiz. Six teams fought it out in rounds about Devon, Families, History and Societies, as well as identifying some of the many celebrities who have died during 2016. Proud to announce that my team were victorious, although I am not sure how valuable my contribution was.

Part of the loft clearing exercise has unearthed my untouched-for-ten-years teaching materials. In the unlikely event that I am ever called upon to teach GCSE history, geography or law (yes really, law – and no, I have no idea how that happened) again, the syllabuses will have changed beyond recognition, so it was time for a serious cull. There were twelve lever arch files rammed full of plastic wallet encased paper. I decided that, in the interests of the environment, the paper should be recycled and in the interests of economy, I should reuse the plastic wallets. I therefore enlisted the services of a trusty assistant and we began to extract paper from plastic wallets. If you think you know how long it takes to take paper from 1000+ (at a conservative estimate) plastic wallets you are wrong, it takes much longer. It is also a surprise how much room all those empty plastic wallets take up. I now have several lifetimes’ supply. Then there is the task of recycling the paper. Our weekly collection consists of whatever I can fit into a small plastic sack (not much). I have a cubic metre of the stuff. Simples, you might be thinking (if you are a meerkat) take it to the recycling centre, upend the large boxes into the appropriate skip and drive off into the distance. Ah, not so. All paper has to enter a skip through a slit the size of a large letter box. It is enough to put anyone off being green.

4599573761_146x229 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). Wendy Percival has created a female genealogist in the shape of Esme Quentin, a thoroughly believable character who I hope will have a long career. The first book, Blood Tied, begins with the murder of an unidentified victim and unravels a sixty year old family mystery. The Indelible Stain takes us from a dying woman on a North Devon beach, to the story of a young girl’s transportation to Australia. Although Wendy has changed the names of her locations, they are recognisable to lovers of the North-west Devon coastline. What pleases me is that the genealogical methodology is believable. I don’t find myself screaming, ‘Why don’t you look at (insert a common record source here)’, as I do with some other authors of similar works. This is not surprising as Wendy is a keen family historian herself but the same can be said of other creators of fictional genealogists, whose careers and research techniques are much less believable. Highly recommended for lovers of mystery stories or family history. If, like me, you are a fan of both, you are on to a winning series.

And in my Life this Week…… history and other weirdness

Nov26 by thehistoryinterpreter

This week I had an early doctor’s appointment. Early is easy, I can do early, especially now I have rediscovered my lost-for-months pocket alarm clock that has been sneakily hiding in a rarely used bag. Appointment was 7.40am. Doctors is a 20 minute drive away. I wake up before 6am as usual and turn off the alarm (set for 6.15am – who needs it). I start my day (aka check emails and social media). There’s a handy little clock in the corner of my computer screen. I really should learn to look at it more often. Suddenly it is 7.06am. I am still in bed – arrrrrggh. Undaunted, I am out of the house by 7.15am. Then I realise that although I know where I live (fortunately) and where the doctors is, I go so rarely that there is a piece missing in the map in my head that should tell me how to get from one to the other. Luckily automatic pilot works and I arrive in time.

‘Early appointments’, I’ve been warned, mean that the doors are locked and I have to be ‘buzzed in’. I fail to grasp the logic of this. Are mad receptionist threatening maniacs only abroad before the hour of 8am (after which time the doors are unlocked)? And if I were said mad receptionist threatening manic would I announce myself as such on the intercom? And another of life’s mysteries, how can the doctor be running twenty five minutes late when I can be no more than appointment three?

Returning from the doctors, I decided that today was the day for making the Christmas cakes; running a bit late with this this year. As regular readers (amazingly there are some) will know, cooking is not high on my list of enjoyable activities, or indeed my abilities. I do however ‘do’ Christmas cake, usually several Christmas cakes. This year I have managed to convince myself that I really don’t need four but two will be sufficient. Cakes happily in the oven I get on with my day. After the required time, I check the cakes and decide that one could do with a little longer to cook thoroughly. I leave it in the Rayburn which is on tick-over (for non Rayburn/Aga users this means it isn’t actually turned on but is still warm). I return to the fascinations of my real life. The next morning I come downstairs to get breakfast and spot a Christmas cake on the kitchen table where I had left it to cool. That’s funny, I think (turns out it is hilarious), where is the other Christmas cake? Realisation dawns. It is still in the Rayburn. The well cooked cake is quite dark and I think ‘solid’ would be a good description. Even my usual remedy (disguising the burned bits by turning it upside down) will be inadequate. Helpful Facebook friends make suggestions as to what to do with this creation, most of which involve copious amounts of alcohol – not sure if that is for me or the cake. I will be making another cake but I have found a volunteer to consume the middle if I cut the edges off.

It has been another week of dealing with incompetents. Just one of several examples:
Me to prospective venue on the telephone: ‘We would like to book your venue for 21 November 2017’
Venue: ‘We will email you’
Venue (by email): ‘Here are the dates we have available in February.’
The months have been changed to protect the guilty.

Last weekend was a rare occurrence. I went to a concert. The performers were Chris Conway and Dan Britton and I had been invited on two counts. Dan’s family were involved in the 1838 Clovelly fishing disaster, that I had researched in 2013 and some of the songs were related to the incident. I was also attending with fellow author Liz Shakespeare, in order to sell books. What a great evening.

Writing tasks this week have included finishing off lessons for my forthcoming online course about twentieth century family and local history research – don’t neglect more recent decades folks, you could even do a course ……… I have also written a guest blog, ready for my appearance on Jenny Kane’s website on 9 December, so look out for that one. Two of my blog posts (here and here) have now appeared on the In-Depth Genealogist’s website and I am writing the next in my series of articles about women’s work for their magazine. I’ve met with our lovely authors’ group again. That’s work right? Surely drinking coffee and eating cake is work.

books Next week I am being interviewed for Tiverton Radio. So, amidst the pre-Christmas busyness and posting out books for discerning Christmas shoppers, it is all go. On the subject of books, a well known online book retailer has my books at ridiculously high prices at the moment. Don’t let this deter you. Buy from the publisher, even better buy from me but please don’t pay above the cover prices that are listed here.

Rubbing Shoulders with Authors and some Technological Challenges

Apr29 by thehistoryinterpreter

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death (allegedly) and also World Book Day, I spent an afternoon in our local independent book shop, Walter Henry’s of Bideford, in the company of other local authors. Putting an author in a bookshop really does need some kind of government health warning, especially as they also sell rather lovely wooden toys. I just wanted to rush out and buy copies of everything all the other authors had written. You can see the one I did buy in the picture alongside some of my own but there are several more on my wanted list. It was lovely to see our books on display. Thanks to fellow author Ruth Downie for the honourable mention in her blog about the afternoon. This week I have been in author mode, working on my forthcoming online ‘writing up your family history’ course for Pharos Tutors and putting the finishing touches to my booklet about how to inspire young people to get involved in family and local history. You would not believe how many historical novels there are for children and I could only include a selection.

I have also, possibly, been inspired by my fiction writing colleagues to branch into the world of novel writing. It was either write a book or do an MA in experimental archaeology. I decided the latter may have to wait as it a) costs money and b) might be too restricting a time commitment. So research has begun, watch this space but probably not for a very long time.

Then there have been some technological challenges. I was invited to make a short video for World Book Day and to mark the launch of Libraries Unlimited. This was a bit of a performance, not least because I was in seventeenth century clothing and wanted a background that lacked things like light switches. I was born in the wrong decade for video taking to be an everyday occurrence and I don’t have a mobile phone. That’s a lie, I have an ‘emergency phone’ that does just that, makes phone calls and inevitably is never about my person in an emergency. It is pay as you go and I think I have put £15 of credit on it since I moved 10 years ago. Anyway lacking a phone or tablet, I enlisted my partner in crime to take the video using my camera. The first take was quite good but we had turned the camera sideways and I had no idea how to turn the resulting video back the right way round (I later learned that this can be done). Not wanting to give my adoring public cricks in the neck we did take 2. Not quite a good as take 1 but take 2 it had to be as by then I was near the deadline and I still had to work out how to send it to the person who was collating them. That took two attempts too.

Then finally finding the frustration of my internet dropping out at vital moments (which it has been doing for the past few months) I telephoned my provider and spent half an hour allegedly ‘fixing’ this. This involved a great deal of turning the router on and off, watching for lights on the router and reporting back to the person on the other end of the phone. Imagine the scenario, no mobile phone remember so I am on the landline in bedroom one. ‘Please turn off your router’, I am asked. I leap off the bed run along the landing corridor, launch myself at the spare bed in bedroom three. Stand on my head to get under the bed (which is heavily populated by my book stock), turn off said router, rush back down the corridor to report that mission is accomplished. ‘Have the lights gone out?’. Back down the corridor, launch self at bed, stand on head, etc. etc. This scenario was repeated numerous time over the course of the next half hour. At the end, some improvement in internet consistency but it has been decided that I need a new ‘super fast’ (that will be a relative term) router so the whole procedure was a waste of time.

The History Interpreter – Janet Few

Presenting and Preserving the Past

Tag Archives: #books