All finds

Cumbria: On Lindale Hill Find!

March 15, 2010 11:36 AM from Helen |  Whilst working on Reading Detectives, the Grange team decided that they would like to commission a poem about the local area, written by a poet living in Cumbria. We decided that it would be a fitting finale to our work,... Read more

Kent: Pangbourne - a love affair with a gorilla Find!

February 28, 2010 2:20 PM from Julia | Sharply observed human nature, elegantly and concisely expressed, the short stories in Jane Gardam's The People on Privilege Hill are a delight to read. The setting for one of them, Pangbourne, is a zoo-park (Howletts Wild Animal Park?), not mentioned by... Read more

Hampshire: A Daughter of Winchester Find!

December 1, 2009 10:51 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | A neighbour recently loaned me a book which she thought would interest me because of a local history project I am working on. Actually the book turned out to have nothing at all about my part of Winchester but it... Read more

Kent: Out of the Blue by Val Rutt Find!

November 22, 2009 2:04 PM from Julia | Out of the Blue is a story of first love in wartime Kent. It is a fictional story, with imagined characters, but inspired by an actual event in June 1944, when a V1 flying bomb was shot down and exploded on... Read more

Kent: The Kent Factor Find!

November 17, 2009 2:49 PM from Rob Illingworth | In Writing in Kent since 1900 an essay commissioned for the Kent Literature Festival 1986, Michael Baldwin jokes that there is a temptation to rate the "Kentishness" of fiction through "the prevalence of hop-poles, orchards and oasts...my own Kent, and... Read more

Kent: Grubby Tales from Beardy Ardagh Find!

November 12, 2009 8:37 AM from Julia | I can't resist a mention for Philip Ardagh's Grubtown Tales: Stinking Rich and Just Plain Stinky, which has just won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in the 7-14 years category. Philip Ardagh (aka Beardy Ardagh) divides his time between Tunbridge Wells and the... Read more

Hampshire: And here is one we missed Find!

November 6, 2009 1:46 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | Reading through book reviews on the net recently I discovered 120 1152x882 Normal 0 Timothy's Book: Notes of an English Country TortoiseThe reviewer obviously enjoyed this book which has obviously only been recently published as 'an elegant little hardback' 'This... Read more

Hampshire: And, finally, one for Hallowe'en Find!

October 31, 2009 7:01 PM from Rachel the editor | Running a quick search for Hampshire ghosts and ghouls, I came across one of our most infamous murders -- that of "Sweet Fanny Adams" in Alton on August 24, 1867. This song commemorates the execution of her murderer later that... Read more

Hampshire: How did we miss this one? Find!

October 31, 2009 6:46 PM from Rachel the editor | The Forest, by Edward Rutherfurd, is set -- as one might expect -- in the New Forest, one of Hampshire's most notable landscapes. This is a saga that starts in Norman times and continues on down through the centuries, following... Read more

Hampshire: John Wyndham's Hampshire connection Find!

October 31, 2009 6:25 PM from Rachel the editor | Steep may be a small village but it has several rich literary connections. It counts among its residents not only Edward Thomas but also John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (1903-1969) -- better known by his first two names, under... Read more

Cumbria: Grange-over-Sands: The Story of a Gentle Township Find!

October 31, 2009 2:27 PM from Mary Rossall | Well, I thought it would be nice to finish this amazing project with a final book which tells the story of this 'gentle township' where I live. The author, W. E. Swale, published his book in 1969 and in it... Read more

Cumbria: The Silent Traveller: A Chinese Artist in Lakeland Find!

October 31, 2009 10:51 AM from Helen | In 1936 Chiang Yee visited the Lake District, staying for 2 weeks in B&Bs around Wasdale and Keswick, and this book, published in 1937 is the journal of his stay. It is one of the most beautiful and amazing pieces... Read more

Hampshire: Reading the countryside Find!

October 31, 2009 12:35 AM from Madelaine - the book thief | It seems strange to be highlighting for Reading Detectives some books with few words, but the cartoon books of Norman Thelwell grew so much out of the Hampshire Countryside that I feel they need to be included here. Although Thelwell... Read more

Hampshire: New Milton's new Milton Find!

October 30, 2009 11:37 AM from Angela Hicken | I've just been contacted by Dr A J Risdon, reminding me about the poet John Heath-Stubbs.  He grew up in New Milton, Hampshire, and was blind.  Even though he settled in London John never forgot Hampshire.  He was partially sighted... Read more

Cumbria: Red Ike Find!

October 30, 2009 7:28 AM from Anne | Get ready for a tale of gypsies, outlaws, poaching and romance set among the Cumberland fells. This really is a bodice ripping adventure of wronged heroines and their courageous, honest suitors. The original story was written by 'Mr' Denwood but in... Read more

Hampshire: Heywood Sumner in South Gorley Find!

October 29, 2009 12:03 PM from Penny | I've just been re-reading the most beautiful and delightful book - Heywood Sumner's "Cuckoo Hill - the Book of Gorley". Heywood Sumner (1853 - 1940) was a major figure in the Arts and Crafts movement in the 1880's and 90's,... Read more

Kent: The Men of Kent March On Find!

October 29, 2009 10:45 AM from Rob Illingworth | John Blanford was a soldier poet, inspired by the Kent countryside, who wrote a poem titled Penshurst. Given the themes that the Kent Reading Detectives have explored, I thought that this was another gift.   Apart from the text... Read more

Cumbria: Cumbrian Privies Find!

October 28, 2009 8:35 PM from Mary Rossall | This fascinating book written by John Dawson and published in 1997 records the history of Cumbrian privies from the soldiers' latrines at the Roman forts on Hadrian's Wall, the 'garderobes' in the great castles and religious houses of the Middle... Read more

Derbyshire: The lost villages of Derwent and Ashopton Find!

October 28, 2009 3:31 PM from Ruth Gordon | It's strange how some places just cry out to be written about and the villages that were drowned under the Ladybower Reservoir have inspired at least 3 stories that I know about. There was Mary Cockett's Drowning Valley told for... Read more

Derbyshire: Fludd by Hilary Mantell Find!

October 28, 2009 3:01 PM from Ruth Gordon | I'm delighted Stephen reminded me about Hilary Mantell. Fludd was the first of her novels I ever read and I couldn't stop talking about it. It has a very strong feel of that border area where Lancashire Cheshire and Derbyshire... Read more

Cumbria: Ethel Fisher's West Cumbrian Dialect titles Find!

October 27, 2009 6:18 PM from Helen | Cumbria has its own distinct dialect...or to be more accurate, that should read "dialects" given that there is so much variation between the north, south, east and west of the county! Dialect has already been touched upon in my post about Jacob Polley's Talk of... Read more

Cumbria: The Embalmer's Book of Recipes by Ann Lingard Find!

October 27, 2009 5:19 PM from Helen |     Last week we had two library events with the author, Ann Lingard. Ann was a lecturer and research scientist at the University of Glasgow, before changing career to write and broadcast. She and her husband and a few... Read more

Hampshire: PG Wodehouse in Emsworth Find!

October 27, 2009 5:01 PM from Penny | Any fan of P.G. Wodehouse has probably come across his Lord Emsworth character in the Blandings novels, but I wonder how many people realise that "Plum" actually lived in Emsworth as a young man, before he was well known. He was... Read more

Cumbria: Nella Last's Peace Find!

October 27, 2009 4:16 PM from Helen | Thanks to the wonderful play Housewife 49, written by and starring Victoria Wood, I think a great many people are now familiar with the war diaries of Nella Last, upon which it was based. However, considerably fewer people may know that a... Read more

Derbyshire: A Beautiful Place for a Murder Find!

October 26, 2009 4:02 PM from Will Newman | Can't believe I didn't think of this before, especially as we have been focusing on crime, legends and the supernatural in the Dark Peak, and Berlie is coming to our finale event on Saturday 31st.  Just remembered that Berlie... Read more

Cumbria: Riding the Stang by Dawn Robertson Find!

October 25, 2009 3:13 PM from Mary Rossall | "Riding the Stang" is the first novel by writer Dawn Robertson and was published by Hayloft Publishing in 2000. I have already posted a find by this author - "Secrets and Legends of Old Westmorland" - and she is obviously... Read more

Hampshire: Walking In My Sleep Find!

October 25, 2009 3:01 PM from Cordelia Gray | A Hampshire childhood in Peace and War: 1938-1942, written by Jane Chichester and published by Red'n'Ritten Ltd: Steyning.   I noticed the advert for this book in this Saturday's Telegraph (24/10/09) and have since found the Ebookmall website where an electronic copy can be purchased... Read more

Hampshire: Nicola Slade's Victorian Mysteries Find!

October 22, 2009 5:13 PM from Angela Hicken | Nicola Slade is a writer from Winchester.  Her first book for adults was 'Scuba Dancing' and was followed by a departure in style with 'Murder Most Welcome', described as a cosy mystery.  Her next book is due in December, published by... Read more

Hampshire: England's Lost Eden Find!

October 21, 2009 6:06 PM from Angela Hicken | A superb book from our local 'Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction' Winner Philip Hoare.  "This is a terrific idiosyncratic piece of popular history" Sunday Times 'England's Lost Eden: Adventures in Victorian Utopia' is about the history of the Girlingites, a bizarre... Read more

Hampshire: June Tate Find!

October 21, 2009 5:49 PM from Angela Hicken | This afternoon I attended a packed house at Hythe Library to listen to a writer who was born and raised in Southampton and uses the area as a setting in her popular saga novels.  June Tate is currently writng her... Read more

Cumbria: Life on the Fell - a pictorial chronicle of a Lakeland community Find!

October 20, 2009 6:11 PM from Anne | This book had its origins about 25 years ago when the late David Caldwell, who had retired from the Civil Service to Cartmel Fell, began to collect old photographs.  David died in 1985 but the collection continued to grow with... Read more

Hampshire: Bullington Find!

October 20, 2009 3:18 PM from Angela Hicken | Bullington is a parish about 9 miles south east of Andover, in the Test Valley.  In the 2001 census its population was 101. Bullington by Cicely Fox Smith, 1917 It was in the high midsummer, and the sun was shining... Read more

Hampshire: Speed The Plough: A Country Song Find!

October 20, 2009 3:12 PM from Angela Hicken | This poem was passed to me by an archivist at Hampshire Records Office Speed The Plough: A Country Song by Cicely Fox Smith, 1916 As I was a-walking on Chilbolton Down,I saw an old farmer there driving to town,A-jogging... Read more

Hampshire: A Hampshire scarecrow: Worzel Gummidge Find!

October 20, 2009 1:55 PM from Rachel the editor | Perusing this excellent film map of Hampshire, I spotted that the 1979 TV adaptation of the Worzel Gummidge stories was filmed in the Hampshire villages of Stockbridge, Kings Somborne, and Braishfield. Wondering whether there was a Hampshire connection with these... Read more

Cumbria: About Scout Scar Find!

October 17, 2009 7:35 PM from Mary Rossall | Last year we had a very enjoyable evening listening to Jan Wiltshire, the author of "About Scout Scar", giving a talk in the library about her book which had just been published. She explained how her habit of writing a... Read more

Kent: The Curse of Aphis Minimus Find!

October 16, 2009 5:10 PM from Julia | Lively, witty and packed with highly relevant topical comment, despite being written 60 years ago, the novel Not on our Stars by Edward Hyams is a compelling read. The book tells the story of a young scientist, Edgar Appleton, who has... Read more

Kent: One True Crime Find!

October 15, 2009 9:53 PM from Rob Illingworth | "-I've got a first edition of The Colossus, I said. Knicked it from Tonbridge Library...-Knick some poems for me, Maxine said. I promised I'd be in the glass case at Tunbridge Wells reference library that very evening." This is an... Read more

Hampshire: Queens Arms Find!

October 15, 2009 4:26 PM from Angela Hicken | I've lifted this from Rob Illingworth's fantastic pub literary link - thanks for guiding us to a great site fellow Detective... Josephine Tozier, the American travel writer made visit a in 1904 to the Queen's Arms, Selborne. Arriving at Alton station after telegraphing... Read more

Hampshire: Haslar Hospital Memories Find!

October 15, 2009 4:07 PM from Angela Hicken | Yesterday I had the pleasure of listening to Lilian Harry talk to a group of eager and loyal readers about her writing, research and the roots of her stories in local places.  She spoke about how researching often took her... Read more

Kent: Why Pick Lydden? Find!

October 15, 2009 8:54 AM from Rob Illingworth | I couldn't resist recording Honor Wyatt & George Ellidge's Why pick on us? as a find. Their son is Robert Wyatt whose music I have been listening to since my teens.   At 47, George Ellidge was diagnosed with multiple... Read more

Cumbria: William Wilberforce - A Summer Diary 1779 Find!

October 14, 2009 1:14 PM from Mary Rossall | My detective work has now led me to the discovery of a diary written by the great anti-slavery politician, William Wilberforce. In 1779, in his final year as an undergraduate at Cambridge, he set out to meet Thomas Cookson, Wordsworth's... Read more

Cumbria: Beatrix Potter - the unknown years Find!

October 13, 2009 11:42 AM from ChrisS |  Reading the blog about Harriet Martineau and her connection with the Armitt Collection reminded me of the other treasures there, Beatrix Potter's paintings of fungi.  While Beatrix Potter is well known for her children's books it is not generally known that... Read more

Derbyshire: Jeannie of White Peak Farm Find!

October 12, 2009 4:36 PM from Ruth Gordon | I've just heard that Berlie Doherty's lovely story of a girl growing up on a Peak District farm has been republished this year in paperback by Catnip Publishing. It is a vivid and sensitive description of a family who are tied... Read more

Cumbria: Smoke over Shap by Margaret Potter Find!

October 12, 2009 1:44 PM from Mary Rossall | This book finds me making a link with the BBC, another partner in the Reading Detectives project. "Smoke over Shap" was created for BBC children's programmes and was first broadcast in six parts as a 4th Dimension serial on Radio... Read more

Derbyshire: Unrest of their Time Find!

October 12, 2009 9:40 AM from Ruth Gordon | This is a really dark and unsettling story, written by Nellie Kirkham who was much better known as an authority on Derbyshire Lead mining. It tells of the lives of people who lived in the twentieth century and of parallel lives... Read more

Cumbria: Songs of a Cragsman by George Basterfield Find!

October 11, 2009 7:30 PM from Mary Rossall | After a very busy week at work I've been having a lovely time today being a Reading Detective! I discovered this book while having a hunt along the Local Studies shelves in Ulverston library a couple of weeks ago and have been... Read more

Cumbria: The Grasmere Dialect Plays Find!

October 11, 2009 4:13 PM from Mary Rossall | In an earlier find I talked about Canon Rawnsley and his charming book "Lake Country Sketches". One of my favourite chapters from this book is entitled "At the Grasmere Play". In it Rawnsley tells of a visit he makes to... Read more

Kent: From Maidstone Prison to the Wide Sargasso Sea! Find!

October 11, 2009 3:23 PM from Julia | An article in this week's Kent Messenger* has alerted us to evidence that a former Maidstone pub may have been the birthplace of Jean Rhys' award winning book The Wide Sargasso Sea! Jean Rhys took many years to write The Wide Sargasso Sea, which was... Read more

Cumbria: The Grizedale Experience: Sculpture, Art & Theatre in a Lakeland Forest Find!

October 11, 2009 12:43 PM from Mary Rossall | Grizedale is a magical forest tucked away in the fells of Furness in the southern Lake District. When Bill Grant arrived at Grizedale as Head Forester in 1963 he recognised that it was time to start managing the forest as... Read more

Cumbria: An Atlas of The English Lakes Find!

October 9, 2009 7:05 PM from Mary Rossall | "An Atlas of The English Lakes" is written by John Wilson Parker and was published in 2002 by Cicerone Press. I am delighted to say that the author, John Parker, is a resident of Grange and a regular visitor to... Read more

Kent: Dover- Life's a Beach Find!

October 9, 2009 2:51 PM from Rob Illingworth | To my surprise, I've come across another 1st world war poet & novelist with strong Kent connections.   Richard Aldington was born in Portsmouth, but spent a significant part of his youth in Dover. "I hate that town," he... Read more

Cumbria: How Hall. Poetry and Memories. A Passion for Ennerdale by Tom Rawling Find!

October 8, 2009 2:51 PM from Helen | Today is National Poetry Day and we had an event at Cockermouth Library this morning, with Michael Baron talking about the Ennerdale Poet, Tom Rowling. Michael has edited, and also written the preface to, How Hall, which has just been published by... Read more

Derbyshire: Derbyshire wins the Booker Prize! Find!

October 8, 2009 1:12 PM from Stephen Booth | I don't think we've had a mention yet for distinguished Derbyshire author Hilary Mantel, whose novel Wolf Hall has just won the 2009 Man Booker Prize. Mantel was born in Glossop and grew up in Hadfield. I'm not sure how how much... Read more

Cumbria: Stumpy, Hero of the Lakes Find!

October 8, 2009 9:01 AM from ChrisS | I discovered this little book on sale in a local community shop and a few weeks later saw it at Dalemain, a stately home near the shores of Ullswater.  It is described as suitable for all ages from 8 to... Read more

Lancashire: Leonora Carrington (1917-present) Find!

October 7, 2009 1:04 PM from Stephen Miller | Perhaps Lancashire's most exciting find yet!  Leonora Carrington (photographed on the right with E.L.T. Mesens, Max Ernst, and Paul Élouard, 1937) was born in Westwood House in Clayton Green (just a few miles from Chorley Library); later the family moved... Read more

Cumbria: The High Places by A. Harry Griffin Find!

October 6, 2009 12:21 PM from Mary Rossall | Harry Griffin grew up in Barrow-in-Furness and his interest in outdoor activities really began the day he took himself on a bicycle ride to Coniston. That day this teenage boy climbed Coniston Old Man, wandered down the slopes to Goat's... Read more

Lancashire: Her Benny Find!

October 5, 2009 6:35 PM from Stephen Miller | A tale of Victorian street children with strong Christian overtones, perhaps not surprising as the author, Silas Hocking, was a Methodist minster (in Burnley for a while).  The book is short but throughly entertaining and suitable for older people as well as... Read more

Cumbria: The Highest House in Wathendale Find!

October 5, 2009 12:10 PM from Helen | The Highest House in Wathendale is a story by Harriet Martineau. Harriet Martineau was one of the most emininet women writers of her day. As well as being a writer she was a philosopher, a sociologist, and political economist, noted for her feminist and abolitionist... Read more

Kent: The ideal home Find!

October 5, 2009 10:45 AM from Rob Illingworth | Victor Canning was a prolific author of thrillers & humorous novels. One of the latter is Mr Finchley Takes the Road. We don't have a copy of this book in Kent Libraries & Archives, but it is available as a... Read more

Cumbria: Kendal by Roger Bingham Find!

October 4, 2009 1:22 PM from Mary Rossall | The full title of this book is "Kendal A Social History"  and as the author explains his aim was 'to record widely the diverse life story covering a thousand years and more of an important northern town within the matrix... Read more

Cumbria: Secrets and Legends of Old Westmorland Find!

October 4, 2009 10:13 AM from Mary Rossall | This book tells many stories; stories which were never written down but survived for over a thousand years passed from one generation to the next by word of mouth. Each story is illustrated with wonderful and very atmospheric black and... Read more

Kent: The Tramping Methodist - more tramping in Kent! Find!

October 4, 2009 8:47 AM from Julia | After a follower on the BBC Radio Kent website drew our attention to the author Sheila Kaye-Smith, another literary search was set in motion. I confess I had not heard of Kaye-Smith before, but was intrigued to find out more.... Read more

Kent: The Small Years by Frank Kendon Find!

October 4, 2009 8:16 AM from Julia | The Small Years is a clear, straightforward, and beautifully expressed account of Frank Kendon's memories of his early childhood in rural Kent. He was born in 1893, and grew up in a school founded by his grandfather, in a small... Read more

Cumbria: Reminiscences of Wordsworth Among the Peasantry of Westmorland by Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley Find!

October 3, 2009 4:01 PM from Mary Rossall | Canon Rawnsley was born in 1851, one of a family of 10 children. As a young man he went to Balioll College, Oxford where he met John Ruskin who was to remain a lifelong friend. In 1877 he became vicar... Read more

Cumbria: Little Gods by Jacob Polley Find!

October 3, 2009 1:06 PM from Mary Rossall | Last Thursday some of the Grange Reading Detectives, plus members from the other three reading groups based in Grange Library, were treated to a very special evening with Jacob Polley. Jacob was born in Cumbria and still lives in Carlisle... Read more

Cumbria: A Lakeland Summer Find!

October 3, 2009 12:28 PM from Mary Rossall | "A Lakeland Summer" was written by Elizabeth Battrick and is the story of a family holiday which took place in the Lake District early one summer in the 1930's. It tells of a young girl's introduction to the high fells,... Read more

Kent: Everyone Loves Rupert Bear! Find!

October 3, 2009 11:52 AM from Michelle | Another Find! From our Visit Kent informers! http://www.visitkent.co.uk Rupert Bear was created in Canterbury! You can celebrate him and his literary connections by joining Rupert and his Chums in their very own museum - full of adventure and surprises! Find out about... Read more

Kent: Knole Find!

October 3, 2009 11:45 AM from Michelle | Another Find! From our Visit Kent informers! http://www.visitkent.co.uk Knole Knole is set at the heart of a 1000 acre deer park, the only remaining medieval deer park in Kent, where Sika & Fallow deer roam freely amongst ancient oak, beech... Read more

Kent: On the write tracks in literary Kent - Day 4 Find!

October 3, 2009 11:37 AM from Michelle | On the write tracks in literary Kent Fire your imagination Day Four If you're feeling romantic head for Penshurst Place, Penshurst, one-time home of Sir Philip Sidney the charismatic Elizabethan courtier and poet. Mortally wounded in battle, he selflessly... Read more

Kent: On the write tracks in literary Kent - Day 3 Find!

October 3, 2009 11:34 AM from Michelle | On the write tracks in literary Kent Fire your imagination Come and be inspired - like so many great writers - by Kent's idyllic rural landscapes, captivating cities, castles and gardens. Day Three This morning share the elegant surrounds... Read more

Kent: On the write tracks in literary Kent - Day 2 Find!

October 3, 2009 11:32 AM from Michelle | On the write tracks in literary Kent Fire your imagination Come and be inspired - like so many great writers - by Kent's idyllic rural landscapes, captivating cities, castles and gardens. Day Two Today take a tip from Geoffrey... Read more

Kent: On the write tracks in literary Kent Day 1 Find!

October 3, 2009 11:29 AM from Michelle | On the write tracks in literary Kent Fire your imagination Come and be inspired - like so many great writers - by Kent's idyllic rural landscapes, captivating cities, castles and gardens. Day One Start you literary tour with Charles... Read more

Kent: On the write tracks in literary Kent Find!

October 3, 2009 11:18 AM from Michelle | Hi Folks,   I have been sent by our informers at Vist Kent a  4 day Kent Literary Tour. Which you can access by logging on to the Visit Kent website http://www.visitkent.co.uk/ or by following my next 4 blogs! It... Read more

Kent: A Special Thank You to Viscount De L'Isle Find!

October 3, 2009 11:10 AM from Michelle | The Kent Reading Detective Team would like to say a special Thank You to Viscount De L'Isle, owner of Penshurst Place, for allowing us to use the beautiful Penshurst Place and Gardens for the Finale venue of the Kent Reading... Read more

Kent: Penshurst Place and Gardens Kent Finale! Find!

October 3, 2009 11:02 AM from Michelle | The finale of the Kent Reading Detectives will be at the fantastic Penshurst Place and Gardens http://www.penshurstplace.com. Where we will be given a fantastic house tour and lecture on Penshurt's Literary connections. Penshurst Place has been acting as one our informers... Read more

Cumbria: Hunter of Harter Fell by Joseph E Chipperfield Find!

October 1, 2009 6:02 PM from Janet | Anyone who likes dogs and the fells will enjoy this regardless of their age. The book was written in 1976 by Joseph Chipperfield who obviously loved Alsatian dogs and the Cumbrian hills. The main character is Hunter, a much... Read more

Derbyshire: John Buxton Hilton: Rescue from the Rose Find!

October 1, 2009 3:40 PM from Ruth Gordon | George reminded me of John Buxton Hilton's splendid thrillers set in the Peak District in the early 20th century. This is the first I read, featuring his characterful investigator, Inspector Brunt and a wonderfully portrayed Buxton inn, The Little Rose and its inhabitants, including... Read more

Derbyshire: The Mermaid poem by Henry Kirke Find!

October 1, 2009 3:03 PM from Ruth Gordon | Here is the poem about the Mermaid of the Mermaid Pool on Kinder (though it could be one of the other Mermaid pools in the Peak as there are no less than 3!) The others are at the Roaches, known as... Read more

Derbyshire: Poems of Peak and Dale Find!

October 1, 2009 2:47 PM from Ruth Gordon | Helen from the Cumbria Reading Detectives has reminded us of a a Peak District poet! Alan Robinson published Poems of Peak and Dale (Athena Press) in 2002 and lives in Matlock. His poems are inspired by the landscape, the towns... Read more

Cumbria: And Nobody Woke Up Dead Find!

October 1, 2009 9:59 AM from Mary Rossall | Author Jan Levi has written a fascinating account of Mabel Barker - a quite remarkable woman whose life deserves to be better known. She was born in Silloth in 1885 and grew up to become one of the leading female... Read more

Hampshire: Magical writing for children Find!

September 30, 2009 9:49 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | Judith Heneghan wrote her first book The Magician's Apprentice as her dissertation piece for the MA Writing for Children run at the University of Winchester. Later renamed Stonecipher this adventure story has in it everything I loved in stories as a... Read more

Hampshire: Inspired by the Tichborne Claimant Find!

September 30, 2009 8:35 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | Last night I attended a talk in Winchester's Pilgrims' School hall by author Robert Goddard. Although I knew that Robert was born in Fareham and had at one time lived near Winchester I hadn't really considered that any of his... Read more

Hampshire: Gypsy Girl Trilogy Find!

September 30, 2009 8:16 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | Children's writer Elizabeth Arnold has lived for a number of years in the New Forest and it was witnessing the lives of the Romany families, who travel through and camp in the Forest, that gave her the idea for her Gypsy... Read more

Hampshire: Rev. Gilbert White (1720-1793) and The Natural History of Selborne Find!

September 30, 2009 7:11 PM from Rachel the editor | I wondered whether this was yet another of those "Not quite a find" books, but then considered how I knew of this work. My first introduction was as a teenaged fan of the romantic suspense novels of Mary Stewart; the... Read more

Hampshire: Coffee with Date and Walnut Loaf Find!

September 30, 2009 7:09 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | When I first met Elizabeth Bewick I didn't know that she was a poet. I was beginning an Oral History project about the area of Winchester where I live and Elizabeth was the first person to put herself forward as... Read more

Hampshire: The Play Room Find!

September 30, 2009 6:18 PM from Angela Hicken | Olivia Manning (1908-1980) is best known for her Balkan Trilogy and Levant Trilogy, produced for the BBC some years ago under its collective title The Fortunes of War, starring the young Branagh and Thompson.   Olivia was born in Portsmouth where her father... Read more

Hampshire: Kipling's dislikes Find!

September 30, 2009 6:10 PM from Angela Hicken | The great Victorian writer, born in India, was sent back to England in 1874.  He stayed with guardians who resided in Campbell Road, Southsea.  Rudyard's time was unhappy, often cruelly punished for his behaviour.  Later he was sent to a Devon school... Read more

Hampshire: Deadman's Plack Find!

September 30, 2009 4:55 PM from Angela Hicken | No it's not the dentistry dilemmas of the deceased (sorry, pitiful humour) it is a monument erected in the early nineteenth century by the then owner of land in Harewood Forest, west Hampshire.    It commemorates the murder in 963 of... Read more

Hampshire: Netley Abbey Ruins Find!

September 30, 2009 2:15 PM from Angela Hicken | These atmospheric ruins have inspired much writing and imaginative musings, including sightings of ghosts and romantic verse.  The appeal of Gothic ruins was written about by Horace Walpole and poet Thomas Gray.  Both visited Netley in 1755 and Walpole wrote:... Read more

Cumbria: An accessible paradise Find!

September 30, 2009 1:12 PM from Mary Rossall | In the early days as a Reading Detective (it seems so long ago!) I wrote a blog about a visit to the Bluebell Bookshop in Penrith. I can never visit a bookshop and leave without a purchase and that day I... Read more

Hampshire: Portsea Sagas Find!

September 30, 2009 11:57 AM from Angela Hicken | Julia O' Sullivan was born in Portsmouth and was the wife of a submariner - both facts inform her writing.  At the Winchester Writers Conference a decade ago Julia had a one-to-one session with a publisher, bringing along a synopsis and opening... Read more

Hampshire: Lilian Harry's Family Connections Find!

September 30, 2009 11:40 AM from Angela Hicken | Lilian Harry is the pen name of romance writer Donna Baker - inspired by the first names of her grandparents.  Under that name she has delighted readers of Portsmouth and further afield with her family sagas.  Beginning in 1994 'Goodbye Sweetheart'... Read more

Hampshire: Crossing the Bar Find!

September 29, 2009 10:54 PM from Friday Next | Still one of our finest and best-loved Poet Laureates, one of Alfred Tennyson's best-loved poems, and coincidentally among his shorter ones, is Crossing the Bar, published in 1889 and written in 20 minutes after setting out from Lymington on the... Read more

Cumbria: The Fleming Family novels and Graham Sutton Find!

September 29, 2009 6:03 PM from ChrisS | I have previously written about Graham Sutton's novel, Shepherd's Warning, and Ann has written about the sequel, Smoke across the Fell.  We now know that between 1947 and 1955 Graham Sutton wrote 4 novels about the Fleming family spanning the... Read more

Cumbria: Excursion to Loweswater. A Lakeland Visit 1865 Find!

September 29, 2009 3:37 PM from Helen | In 1865, Robert and Rachel Jackson of  Waterend, Loweswater, wrote to their Quaker friends in Manchester and invited them to come to stay for a weekend. The invitation was accepted with great enthusiasm...by 44 people! Quite a house party by... Read more

Cumbria: Writing on the Wall Find!

September 29, 2009 3:04 PM from Helen | Writing on the Wall is probably best described as a kind of portfolio or collection of writing arising from a very special creative writing project which ran from 2001 to 2006. It was an international project based on Hadrian's Wall and... Read more

Hampshire: John Betjeman and Bevis Hillier Find!

September 29, 2009 3:02 PM from Cordelia Gray | Although Hampshire can't lay claim to John Betjeman, it does has a strong link through Bevis Hillier, his biographer.    I bumped into Bevis the other day at St Cross Hospital (the almshouse of noble poverty) where he is one of... Read more

Hampshire: Growing up in Portsmouth Find!

September 29, 2009 2:29 PM from Friday Next | Is growing up in Portsmouth more frustrating than growing up anywhere else? It certainly seems to be for 13-year-old Jake as he struggles to make sense of the urban domesticity of 1980s Portsmouth. Read more in 'Glasshopper'  (Myriad Press 2009),... Read more

Kent: Penshurst is the Place Find!

September 29, 2009 2:27 PM from Rob Illingworth | For generations, poets have been inspired by the literary and historical legacy of Penshurst Place. Robert Southey captured the essence of this inspiration in his poem. For a Tablet at Penshurst.   http://www.poetry-love-poems.com/southey/for-a-tablet-at-penshurst.php He also makes a suggestion: ...if such... Read more

Cumbria: Beyond Scafell by Alan Robinson Find!

September 29, 2009 2:23 PM from Helen | I think that many of us involved in this project have commented how, were it not for Reading Detectives, we wouldn't have chosen to read particular titles or we would simply have "missed" them altogether by not coming across them.... Read more

Cumbria: Rogue Herries by Hugh Walpole Find!

September 29, 2009 12:50 PM from Helen | Rogue Herries is the first of four volumes that make up the Herries Chronicle and was published in 1933, with the succeeding titles (Judith Parris, The Fortress and Vanessa) charting the Herries family up until the 20th Century. Set in the 18th Century,... Read more

Cumbria: Kendal In The Nineteenth Century by A Wainwright Find!

September 28, 2009 10:19 PM from Anne | Doreen's enthusiasm for T'Bacca Queen led me to delve further into books about Kendal's past and particularly Fellside. Alfred Wainwright well known for his pictorial guides, but less well known for his other works, produced one such book 'Kendal in the nineteenth century'. In... Read more

Hampshire: More Edward Thomas Find!

September 28, 2009 9:17 PM from Friday Next | Edward Thomas's classic account of a year spent wandering across the south of England naturally embraces Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Wiltshire. However, this treasured book is more about his beloved Hampshire than any other part of the south. Not surprisingly,... Read more

Hampshire: Two blokes and a shed Find!

September 28, 2009 8:44 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | On a walk this morning my companions and I stopped to look across at the local allotments - pick out the best, see who wasn't working on theirs, and check out who had covered their leeks.While discussing the various advantages... Read more

Lancashire: A short story by Charles Dickens Find!

September 28, 2009 2:55 PM from Stephen Miller | A short story by Charles Dickens, George Silverman's Explanation is fairly difficult to obtain as a hard copy but is available to read from various online sources.  It is based around Hoghton Tower which Dicken's visited whilst in Lancashire. Reading... Read more

Hampshire: In the shadow of the Cathedral Find!

September 28, 2009 1:46 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | By the very nature of a residency, a writer will be influenced by the place in which that residency is situated. I have read some wonderful collections of poetry created out of Writer in Residence Projects, notably Silk which resulted... Read more

Hampshire: Hampshire Days Find!

September 27, 2009 10:02 PM from Friday Next | W H Hudson was an American naturalist who took readily to the English countryside, lived in Bournemouth, and wrote many popular books in the early part of the last century. Hampshire Days (1903) for the most part celebrates the New... Read more

Hampshire: Mr Hardy Writes a Poem Find!

September 27, 2009 9:15 PM from Friday Next | In addition to the Winchester setting for the final scene of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy set a poem there following a real-life experience. On the pretext of showing the Hon. Florence Henniker the architectural delights of the cathedral,... Read more

Hampshire: "Steep" is apt Find!

September 27, 2009 7:30 PM from Rachel the editor | If you're going to read the poems and stories of authors who are inspired by the countryside around you, they will eventually inspire you to get out into it. East Hampshire district council have, thankfully, recognized this and done all... Read more

Hampshire: Thackeray in Fareham Find!

September 27, 2009 7:25 PM from Friday Next | During the 1850s, William Makepeace Thackeray was Charles Dickens' closest rival in terms of popularity and literary achievement. Born in India, he was sent to England to stay with his great-aunt in Fareham although the young Dickens had left Portsmouth by... Read more

Kent: From Country Pursuits to the Western Front Find!

September 27, 2009 7:21 PM from Julia | Perhaps because the anti-war sentiments of the 'war poets' are so strong, their other writing is sometimes overlooked. I was not aware before of Siegfried Sassoon's fictionalised autobiography, The Complete Memoirs of George Sherston, nor did I know that Sassoon grew... Read more

Kent: Edmund Blunden - echoes from Yalding church bells Find!

September 27, 2009 5:14 PM from Julia | Browsing along the poetry shelves in the Centre for Kentish Studies, I found several books with poems by Edmund Blunden, who, I discovered, spent much of his childhood in the village of Yalding. Throughout his life he maintained a deep... Read more

Cumbria: In There Somewhere Find!

September 27, 2009 1:26 PM from Mary Rossall | I've been thinking about dry stone walls! Many years ago I worked for twelve months as a ranger for the National Park. In that time I helped to construct a bridge over the beck which runs next to Rydal Mount, the... Read more

Kent: Jane Austen walk Find!

September 27, 2009 8:45 AM from Ruth Harrison | A circular walk in Tonbridge explores the family links to Jane Austen.... Read more

Cumbria: The Bondwomen by W G Collingwood Find!

September 26, 2009 7:21 PM from Anne |   Well Helen, I haven't yet read Thorstein of the Mere but I have read the sequel, The Bondwomen. Like you I have found my eyes opened to the historical significance of parts of our county's landscape, areas which were home... Read more

Hampshire: Forgotten Favourite? Find!

September 25, 2009 4:22 PM from Angela Hicken | When I've been speaking to people about the 'Reading Detectives' and our search a number have mentioned 'Children of the New Forest' by Frederick Marryat.  It is one of those cases where if you live in a particular area you may... Read more

Hampshire: Daniel Clay's 'Broken' Find!

September 25, 2009 3:55 PM from Angela Hicken | I've just started reading this gritty novel set in Hedge Edge, just outside Southampton.  In his acknowledgements Daniel thanks members of the Chandlers Ford Writers for their support and also staff of the Southampton Library Service for feeding back on... Read more

Cumbria: "Ah'd Gaa Back Tomorra!" Find!

September 24, 2009 8:42 PM from Mary Rossall | When I read "The Cumberland Coast" by Neil Curry (see earlier find) he mentioned in the chapter about Whitehaven how the screen lasses worked sorting and grading the coal at the local pits. This caught my attention and after some... Read more

Kent: John Knatchbull from Quarterdeck to Gallows Find!

September 24, 2009 7:34 PM from Lesley | by Colin Roderick includes the narrative written by John Knatchbull himself in 1844 in the condemned cell during the last few weeks of his life. Born in 1787 in Provender, John Knatchbull was the 3rd son of Sir Edward Knatchbull... Read more

Cumbria: A Cumbrian Copper by Ray Huddart Find!

September 24, 2009 5:34 PM from Chrissy Ogilvie | This is a memoir by a policeman who served his time in Cumbria rising from the beat to detective level. The style is a little plodding at times but then one senses an authentic voice and not one that has... Read more

Kent: Catherine Aird Find!

September 24, 2009 5:22 PM from Heather | CATHERINE AIRD is the author of more than twenty crime novels and short story collections, most of which feature Detective Chief Inspector CD Sloan. She holds an honorary MA from the University of Kent and was made an MBE. Her... Read more

Cumbria: The Arsenic Labyrinth by Martin Edwards Find!

September 24, 2009 5:15 PM from Chrissy Ogilvie | One of a series of crime novels set in the Lake District and featuring academic historian Daniel Kind and professional detective Hannah Scarlett in an arms length romantic dance. In true Miss Marple tradition, the amateur helps the professional to... Read more

Cumbria: Old Will Stories by Dudley Hoys Find!

September 24, 2009 5:09 PM from Chrissy Ogilvie | A rather quaint and charming collection of short stories featuring a fictional rural Cumbrian character 'Old Will', a man of the land. There is a strong sense of place and a sketch portrait of the kind of farmer who may... Read more

Cumbria: The Shield Ring by Rosemary Sutcliff Find!

September 24, 2009 9:45 AM from Anne | When I was in my first year at Grammar School in 1967, our form had to read Rosemary Sutcliff's version of Beowulf and it left a lasting impression. So it was a pleasant surprise to discover that among the many... Read more

Cumbria: T'Bacca Queen by Theodora Wilson Wilson Find!

September 23, 2009 7:29 PM from Anne | I must confess I haven't read this book, but am writing this entry on behalf of Doreen, a fellow detective, who as a true local has a keen interest in the local history of what is now south Cumbria, but what... Read more

Kent: More from the tramps ..... Find!

September 23, 2009 3:53 PM from Julia | By complete surprise, One Green Field by Edward Thomas dropped out of my newspaper on Saturday. I found this a delight to read, and definitely a find for me, as I had not read any of Thomas's prose before. It is an acutely... Read more

Kent: Cumbria Find with a Kent Connection - Deborah in Langdale Find! Find!

September 23, 2009 2:30 PM from Robert | The Cumbria team has found a book with a Folkestone connection. The following is the blog Cumbria put on. This fictional story of two sisters, Deborah and Enid Machell, was written by E. M. Ward and published in 1933. The story... Read more

Kent: Van Gogh in Ramsgate? Find!

September 23, 2009 2:14 PM from Robert | Hi Folks below is an excerpt from the website www.churchillhouse.com about Van Gogh links to Kent. ...Did you know that Vincent Van Gogh painted our language school, Churchill House? To be perfectly correct, he didn't paint it - he sketched... Read more

Kent: Tissot A Passing Storm c1876 Find!

September 23, 2009 2:09 PM from Robert | A fantastic book celebration the artist Tissot and his Kent connections is by Christopher Wood called 'Tissot'. Pg 88 and 89 highlight the paintings ' A Passing Storm' and 'Room Overlooking the Harbour' both which have a fantastic view of... Read more

Hampshire: Pell and Tess Find!

September 23, 2009 1:43 PM from Angela Hicken | 'Nomansland' seems the perfect setting for the fiction writer, an imaginary location evoking isolation, even desolation.  But it's not fictional, it is the real setting of Meg Rosoff's new title 'The Bride's Farewell'.  The hamlet is situated at the northerly... Read more

Kent: The Downfall of a Reading Detective Find!

September 22, 2009 8:31 PM from Rob Illingworth | To the memory of Mrs Lefroy was the title of a poem by Jane Austen, who became one of the most celebrated authors of all time.   http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-the-memory-of-mrs-lefroy-who-died-dec-r-16-my/   It is also the title of a poem by Samuel Egerton... Read more

Kent: Male Georgian/Regency authors Find!

September 22, 2009 5:07 PM from Michelle | Hi Super Sleuths,    Here is a FIND!     Regency and Georgian Literature with a Kent Connection which Rob Illingworth has dug up.  They tie in nicely with our Jane Austen heritage link.   Male Georgian/Regency authors whose writings are... Read more

Kent: Bluestocking writers Find!

September 22, 2009 5:02 PM from Michelle | Hi Super Sleuths,   Here is a FIND!     Regency and Georgian Literature with a Kent Connection which Rob Illingworth has dug up.  They tie in nicely with our Jane Austen heritage link.    "Bluestocking" writers with strong Kent connections:... Read more

Kent: Vicesimus Knox Find!

September 22, 2009 4:57 PM from Michelle | Hi Super Sleuths,    Here is a FIND!     Regency and Georgian Literature with a Kent Connection which Rob Illingworth has dug up.  They tie in nicely with our Jane Austen heritage link.    Vicesimus Knox: A headmaster of Tonbridge... Read more

Kent: The Knatchbull/ Knatchbull-Hugesson family Find!

September 22, 2009 4:55 PM from Michelle | Hi Super Sleuths,    Here is a FIND!     Regency and Georgian Literature with a Kent Connection which Rob Illingworth has dug up.  They tie in nicely with our Jane Austen heritage link.    The Knatchbull/ Knatchbull-Hugesson family- There is... Read more

Kent: Anne Lefroy- Friend & Mentor to Jane Austen Find!

September 22, 2009 4:50 PM from Michelle | Hi Super Sleuths,    Here is a FIND!     Regency and Georgian Literature with a Kent Connection which  Rob Illingworth has dug up.  They tie in nicely with our Jane Austen heritage link.    Anne Lefroy nee Brydges- friend &... Read more

Kent: Elizabeth Barrett Browning Find!

September 22, 2009 4:29 PM from Michelle |  Hi Reading Detectives,   Another Kent Find sent in by Penshurst Place and Gardens http://www.penshurstplace.com/   The following is an excerpt from the author Margaret Wilson about the Penshurst literary connections to Kent.   Another writer who had personal experience... Read more

Kent: Humphrey Davy - Scientific Experiments and Poetry? Find!

September 22, 2009 4:22 PM from Michelle | Hi Reading Detectives,   Another Kent Find sent in by Penshurst Place and Gardens http://www.penshurstplace.com/   The following is an excerpt from the author Margaret Wilson about the Penshurst literary connections to Kent.   A rather surprising poem in 1811 was... Read more

Kent: Charlotte Smith and Sir Samuel Egerton Brydges - Sonnets Find!

September 22, 2009 4:18 PM from Michelle | Hi Reading Detectives, Another Kent Find sent in by Penshurst Place and Gardens http://www.penshurstplace.com/   The following is an excerpt from the author Margaret Wilson about the Penshurst literary connections to Kent. In the late 18th century Charlotte Smith, the... Read more

Kent: Sir Philip Sidney - Penshurst and Poetry Find!

September 22, 2009 4:06 PM from Michelle | Hi Reading Detectives, Another Kent Find! Sent in by Penshurst Place and Gardens http://www.penshurstplace.com/   The following is an excerpt from the author Margaret Wilson about the Penshurst literary connections to Kent.   William Cowper in 'The Task' (1785) mentions... Read more

Kent: Penshurst and Poetry Find!

September 22, 2009 3:20 PM from Michelle | I have been contacted by Penshurst Place and Gardens about the fantastic literary connections they have to Kent http://www.penshurstplace.com/ . The following is an excerpt of what I was emailed and is by the author Margaret Wilson. Penhurset and poetry Penshurst has always inspired poets. Poems... Read more

Kent: Crackers for Christmas Find!

September 22, 2009 12:19 PM from Michelle | Yesterday at our Kent Reading Detective's meeting at the Centre for Kentish Studies, team member Rob Illingworth highlighted a find by a relation of Jane Austen. The Right Hon. E.H Knatchbull Hugessen (Lord Brabourne) the book is called 'Crackers for... Read more

Kent: Fanny and Eva's Diaries Find!

September 22, 2009 12:12 PM from Michelle | While we visited the Centre for Kentish Studies yesterday we were able to look at Fanny Knight and Eva Knatchbull-Hugessen's diaries. This gave us a fantastic insight into their daily lives and the times they lived in. Some entries like the... Read more

Kent: S. M Andrews Find!

September 22, 2009 12:10 PM from Michelle | Here is another Find! we found at the Centre for Kentish Studies at our Reading Detective meeting yesterday! 'Jane Austen some aspects of her work together with Tonbridge connections' by S. M Andrews more great information on Jane's connections to... Read more

Kent: A Kent Girl-Graduate Find!

September 22, 2009 12:06 PM from Michelle | Another one of Tonbridge author Margaret Wilson's books this one is about the life of Eva Knatchbull-Hugessen the great-great niece of Jane Austen.... Read more

Kent: Almost another Sister Find!

September 22, 2009 12:03 PM from Michelle | 'Almost another Sister' is by Margaret Wilson who is a Tonbridge resident and the book celebrates Jane Austen and her relationship with her niece Fanny. We hope to invite her to our Kent Reading Detectives Finale to find out her inspiration... Read more

Kent: Margaret Wilson Find!

September 22, 2009 11:55 AM from Michelle | Margaret Wilson is local to Tonbridge and wrote 'Jane Austen's Family and Tonbridge' which is fantastically written. We hope to invite her to our Kent Reading Detectives Finale to find out her inspiration and her writers journey.... Read more

Kent: The Portrait of Jane Austen Find!

September 22, 2009 11:51 AM from Michelle | This is one of our finds from our visit to the Centre for Kentish Studies - Which is such an amazing place! 'The Rice Portrait of Jane Austen' by Richard James Wheeler. We had the author's son visit our first... Read more

Kent: Jane Austen letters to Fanny Knight! Find!

September 22, 2009 11:43 AM from Michelle | Dear Reading Detectives, We had the most fantastic Reading Detective meeting yesterday, we had the opportunity to see the letters that the Centre for Kentish Studies holds from Jane Austen to her favourite niece Fanny Knight. Allison Cresswell and Rob Illingworth... Read more

Kent: Marcus Crouch Find!

September 22, 2009 11:35 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had an email from one of our supporters Chris Bull who has given us a fantastic Find! He also points us in the direction of where to get clues.   Happy Reading!  ... Read more

Kent: Printing Press Find!

September 22, 2009 11:33 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had an email from one of our supporters Chris Bull who has given us a fantastic Find!   Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,       Robert Pocock (1760 - 1830) First history of... Read more

Kent: Local Historians Find!

September 22, 2009 11:31 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had an email from one of our supporters Chris Bull who has given us a fantastic Find!   Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,       Many local historians with published works - in... Read more

Kent: Shipping on the Thames Find!

September 22, 2009 11:29 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had an email from one of our supporters Chris Bull who has given us a fantastic Find!   Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,       Frank C Bowen - died c 1959. Lived... Read more

Kent: Billy Bunter and The Magnet Comic! Find!

September 22, 2009 11:27 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had an email from one of our supporters Chris Bull who has given us a fantastic Find!   Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,       Frank Richards (1876 - 1961): a massive writer... Read more

Kent: Michael Baldwin Find!

September 22, 2009 11:24 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had an email from one of our supporters Chris Bull who has given us a fantastic Find!   Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,          Local Author Michael Baldwin  some of his... Read more

Kent: Kentish Crime Writer Find!

September 22, 2009 11:16 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had an email from one of our supporters Chris Bull who has given us a fantastic Find!   Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,            Michael Gilbert - crime writer who lived... Read more

Kent: Ghost Story.... Find!

September 22, 2009 11:10 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had an email from one of our supporters Chris Bull who has given us a fantastic Find!  I like the sound of this one!   Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,    Montague Rhodes... Read more

Kent: Kent Finds! Find!

September 22, 2009 11:06 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had a email one of our supporters Chris Bull who has given us a fantastic Find!    Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,  Alex John Philip (1879 - 1955) - Borough Librarian at Gravesend 1903-1946, he... Read more

Kent: Kent Clues! Find!

September 22, 2009 11:03 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had a email of Kentish 'Clues' from Chris Bull who has given us some fantastic Finds of Kentish Authors.   Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,          Ron Hull - Northfleet poet, 3... Read more

Hampshire: Edward Thomas and Froxfield Find!

September 21, 2009 5:55 PM from Rachel the editor | Holidaying in Wales a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of why I decided to take part in the Reading Detectives project. I'd watched Owen Sheers' programmes on poetry and place as part of the BBC's poetry series and... Read more

Cumbria: Furness and the Industrial Revolution Find!

September 20, 2009 7:37 PM from Mary Rossall | I am writing this blog on behalf of fellow Reading Detective, Liz. "Furness and the Industrial Revolution" was written by J. D. Marshall and was first published in 1958 with a revised edition in 1981. It is easy to think... Read more

Cumbria: The Shadow of Black Combe Find!

September 19, 2009 10:39 AM from Mary Rossall | Black Combe is the fell that sits in splendid isolation at the mouth of the Duddon estuary and towers over the town of Millom where Norman Nicholson lived all his life. It played a large part in the poet's... Read more

Hampshire: Betjeman explores hidden corners of Hampshire Find!

September 18, 2009 2:32 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | The name of John Betjeman is hardly expected in association with the county of Hampshire - that honour lies more with Oxfordshire (or of course Slough!) but in his collection of topographical and architectural writings First and Last Loves there... Read more

Cumbria: The Painted Letters of Percy Kelly Find!

September 18, 2009 12:42 PM from Anne | I'm putting this up as a find on behalf of a fellow detective, Doreen. After reading 'Hercules and the Farmer's Wife' by Chris Wadsworth, I came across another lovely book by her called 'The Painted Letters of Percy Kelly'. It tells the... Read more

Cumbria: Ivver Sen Find!

September 17, 2009 8:11 PM from Mary Rossall | Ivver Sen is the Cumbrian dialect for ever since and is the title of a book published in 2008 and written by Keith Richardson who lives in Keswick. It has recently won the Lakeland Book of the Year competition and... Read more

Derbyshire: Arnemetia Find!

September 17, 2009 7:22 PM from Blythe Aimson | Arnemetia is an anthology of community poetry. It is written in Derbyshire and had a suitably gothique cover and name (Arnemetia being the goddess Buxton was named after by the Romans, Aqua Arnemetia, meaning grove of the sacred spring) and when... Read more

Derbyshire: Poole's Cavern, Buxton Find!

September 17, 2009 7:11 PM from Will Newman | Poole's Cavern in Buxton is a 2 million year old natural cavern that has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.  The name derives from an outlaw, Poole, who reputedly used the cave as a lair and a base... Read more

Derbyshire: In Place of Execution.... Find!

September 17, 2009 7:03 PM from Angela Wilkinson | This is an amazing multi-layered psychological thriller from writer Val McDermid. Set in the winter of 1963, 13 year old Alison Carter vanishes from her home in the isolated Derbyshire hamlet of Scarsdale. The effect of her disappearance reverberates down... Read more

Derbyshire: Scared to live Find!

September 17, 2009 6:42 PM from Charlotte Hodgson | I really enjoyed meeting Stephen Booth but found this book difficult to get into. My mum tried to read this as well and also found it a little slow.  I hope the next one I read will be better.  ... Read more

Derbyshire: The Jane Eyre Connection Find!

September 17, 2009 6:39 PM from Angela Wilkinson | The setting of Charlottle Bronte's novel Jane Eyre was apparently inspired by her visit to Hathersage in 1845. Her description of Thornfield Hall certainly appears to match that of the 15th Century manor house of North Lees and Morton could... Read more

Derbyshire: Haunted Derbyshire and the Peak District Find!

September 17, 2009 6:32 PM from Blythe Aimson | This book was really interesting, and very deeply detailed. There was lots of variation in the stories and layed out in a very user friendly way. The accounts of local ghost legends are well written, which adds to the already... Read more

Derbyshire: Narnia in the Peak District? Find!

September 17, 2009 6:15 PM from Will Newman | I have been looking through Bygone Derbyshire and discovered that legendary author C S Lewis has a link with Derbyshire and the Peak.   As Lewis wrote later "My happiest hours are spent with three or four old friends in old... Read more

Derbyshire: The Wonders of the Peake... Find!

September 17, 2009 6:06 PM from Angela Wilkinson | Charles Cotton was an English writer and big friend of Izaak Walton.He not only helped to write the second part of the Compleat Angler but he also composed the long topographical poem "The Wonders of the Peake" which is amazingly... Read more

Lancashire: Bolton Radical- Allen Clarke Find!

September 17, 2009 4:28 PM from Stephen Miller | I've just finished reading an early 20th century novel by Allen Clarke called 'John o' Gods Sending', which is a set in Bolton during the Civil War.  The story plays out around the ancient pub 'The Man and Scythe'; the overall... Read more

Hampshire: Rebecca Smith Find!

September 17, 2009 4:28 PM from Angela Hicken | Rebecca Smith is a Southampton based novelist who has used the city as a key location in her three Bloomsbury published books: 'The Bluebird Café', 'Happy Birthday and all That' and 'Bit of Earth'. Her books are engaging, witty... Read more

Derbyshire: Night Angels: a scary episode on the Snake Pass Find!

September 17, 2009 11:40 AM from Ruth Gordon | I've just remembered about this scary thriller by Sheffield based author Danuta Reah. It begins as a young woman's car breaks down on a dark, wet night as she heads back to Sheffield over the Snake. Next morning her car... Read more

Cumbria: Lakeland in the 1830s Find!

September 16, 2009 5:58 PM from ChrisS | This book by Wendy M Stuart is a transcription of an original manuscript written by her great-great grandfather, Isaac Simpson. It is a daily journal of a journey taken in a horse-drawn gig in the autumn of 1831 from Preston to... Read more

Cumbria: Wasdale Climbing Book By Michael Cocker Find!

September 16, 2009 7:40 AM from Anne | Having identified myself as a climbing widow (only joking, Mike!), this book was always going to interest my husband but I did think before reading it that I might find it hard work! I'm glad to say I didn't,... Read more

Hampshire: Right of Access Find!

September 15, 2009 2:14 PM from Angela Hicken | Alison Orlowska was appointed the Hampshire Poet for the National Year of Reading, winning a competition to be county laureate for 2008. Such was the success of the project that Alison continues to work alongside many council departments, showing... Read more

Kent: Sketches By Boz - We must leave town! Find!

September 14, 2009 10:13 PM from Robert |     A few years ago I visited the Dickens House in London and bought an original copy of Lloyd's Sixpenny Dickens 'Sketches By Boz' that they happened to be selling. At the time I thought what a FIND! There is several mentions... Read more

Hampshire: Hampshire songs, poems, and ditties Find!

September 14, 2009 6:54 PM from Rachel the editor | A little bit of light Googling took me to this collection of Hampshire-inspired songs and poems. Many of them are anonymous; some are very simple -- traditional schoolyard chants or labourers' doggerel; but others are touching. My favourite is "Home... Read more

Lancashire: More Mark Ward! Find!

September 14, 2009 5:23 PM from Peter | This time a collaboration between Mark Ward and artist Rebecca Chesney, Ward providing the words and Chesney providing the images.  The book is called 'Five Rivers' and refers to the rivers which flow into Morecambe bay.  Ward's poems reflect his... Read more

Hampshire: In this house Find!

September 13, 2009 10:26 PM from Friday Next | One of Hampshire's literary heroines is the poet and novelist Julia Darling.She was born and brought up in Winchester but made her name with the Poetry Virgins in the North East. She then turned her hand to short stories and... Read more

Cumbria: Riding High by Barbara Sneyd Find!

September 13, 2009 6:36 PM from Anne | Janet (a fellow reading detective) and I have both read this lovely book set in Finsthwaite, a small village at the southern end of Windermere. It is a beautiful collection of paintings, sketches and letters by Barbara Sneyd who was born... Read more

Cumbria: Deborah in Langdale Find!

September 11, 2009 7:27 PM from Mary Rossall | This fictional story of two sisters, Deborah and Enid Machell, was written by E. M. Ward and published in 1933. The story begins in Folkstone where the two unmarried sisters are living with their aged uncle. Life is hard and when... Read more

Derbyshire: Blue John Find!

September 11, 2009 6:22 PM from Angela Wilkinson | Wow - have just rediscovered this wonderful picture book by local author Berlie Doherty - a great writer whose many books  are inspired by the beautiful Peak District landscape in which she lives . It is beautifully illustrated by Tim Clarey... Read more

Derbyshire: Buxton under the crust..... Find!

September 11, 2009 6:04 PM from Angela Wilkinson | Have just been reading 2 collections of short stories of the supernatural by Buxton writer Terry Lamsley - "Conference with the dead"  and "Under the Crust". Terry reckons in the blurb of "Under the Crust" that Buxton deserves more ghosts... Read more

Hampshire: Words & Walks Find!

September 11, 2009 4:10 PM from Angela Hicken | Earlier this year Arts, Libraries and Countryside launched a writing competition, encouraging the public to gain inspiration from the Royal Victoria Country Park, its history and location, then put pen to paper to produce either a short story or poem. ... Read more

Kent: If You're Going to Snodland... Find!

September 11, 2009 10:36 AM from Rob Illingworth | In sleuthing for literary connections to the Tonbridge & Malling district of Kent, we have made an unlikely find. The poet Thom Gunn was born in Gravesend, Kent, but he lived in California for over 40 years. Understandably, he is... Read more

Hampshire: England, Their England Find!

September 10, 2009 4:33 PM from Angela Hicken | I was telephoned by Bishop John Dennis who after reading about the project was keen to tell me about A.G. Macdonell's satirical comic novel from the 1920s.  The book examines the changing nature of this interwar era with a style... Read more

Kent: The Kent Tramp Trail Find!

September 10, 2009 1:30 PM from Rob Illingworth | Rupert Croft-Cooke's Tonbridge autobiography, The Altar in the Loft,  led me on a trail of detection. He mentions an encounter with the writer Bart Kennedy, "a burly man with a deep voice and the unkempt look considered proper for writers... Read more

Cumbria: Early Recollections of Grange Find!

September 9, 2009 4:17 PM from Helen | I have just finished reading the most delightful piece of writing about Grange over Sands, and regular readers of the Cumbria page on the Reading Detectives website will perhaps recognise it as one of the titles referred to by Mary in her very... Read more

Lancashire: Mrs G Linneaus Banks Find!

September 9, 2009 1:17 PM from Stephen Miller | On behalf of Reading Detective, Barbara: Mrs G Linneaus Banks (1821-1897) was born at 10 Oldham Street, Manchester.  In 1860 she decided she couldn't rely on her husband to support her and their children so she began to write at... Read more

Cumbria: Hazard's Way by Roger Hubank Find!

September 8, 2009 6:38 PM from Anne | Being married to a climber and mother of another, I automatically reached for this book when I saw the picture of Wasdale adorning the cover. Set at the turn of 19th century, the book revolves around the life of a... Read more

Cumbria: Yan, Tan, Tethera Find!

September 7, 2009 8:31 PM from Mary Rossall | I was thinking today about the Herdwick sheep which are so much a part of the Cumbrian landscape. They are a small hardy breed which 'heft' to the fellside on which they were bred. There is a whole Cumbrian language... Read more

Lancashire: Mard Ward Find!

September 7, 2009 6:19 PM from Peter | Mark Ward is a Blackburn-born poet whose work I have only just discovered.  His latest collection of poetry is called 'Thunder Alley' and is inspired by his home town.  Ward has done an eclectic mix of jobs all around the... Read more

Cumbria: Talk of the Town Find!

September 7, 2009 10:29 AM from Helen | In preparation for some upcoming events in our libraries with Jacob Polley I have been reading his debut novel, Talk of the Town. Jacob was born in 1975 in Carlisle. He is perhaps better known as a poet. He won the Eric Gegory Award and... Read more

Hampshire: An Ode to a Road Find!

September 6, 2009 11:31 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | A272 An Ode to a Road, is a book about ... a road... the A272 ... which runs through Sussex and then Hampshire to Winchester and beyond. It isn't a travel book as such, or a book of topographical writing...... Read more

Hampshire: The story of a house Find!

September 6, 2009 9:50 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | The village of Hinton Ampner Lies eight miles east of Winchester in an unspoilt sweep of chalk countryside. The village is tiny, just a cluster of houses a pub, a small but beautiful parish church and a manor house. Hinton... Read more

Cumbria: Capturing the Mountains Find!

September 6, 2009 12:55 PM from Mary Rossall | I am writing this entry on behalf of Reading Detective June. "Capturing the Mountains: The Lake District Through the Lens of the Abraham Brothers" was published in 2008 and includes an introduction by Sue Steinberg, Ashley Abraham's granddaughter, who also... Read more

Cumbria: Hope On, Hope Ever Find!

September 6, 2009 9:06 AM from Anne | I'm posting this on behalf of fellow Reading Detective, Brenda. The book was written by Mary Howitt and was first published in 1840 and reprinted in 1988. Mary Howitt visited her Quaker relations in Dentdale in 1836 with her husband,... Read more

Hampshire: Crime Connections to the City Find!

September 4, 2009 11:55 AM from Angela Hicken | Portsmouth was famously the one time home of Arthur Conan Doyle, the place where he created Sherlock Holmes.  He also penned historical novels, his favourite 'The White Company' set in part of the New Forest, an area he loved, and... Read more

Cumbria: Mildred Edwards: Our City Our People 1889 - 1978 Memories Find!

September 4, 2009 11:07 AM from Helen | Working for Cumbria Libraries we are fortunate in being able to pick the brains of colleagues with specialisms. Our team of Local Studies librarians have an amazing wealth of knowledge and expertise, and they manage collections which hold all kinds of amazing... Read more

Cumbria: Lakeland Limericks Find!

September 3, 2009 5:34 PM from Mary Rossall | Well this must be one of the slimmest hidden gems I've found so far - just thirty-seven pages but sometimes the biggest surprises come in small packages. "Lakeland Limericks", written in 1941, by C.Armstrong Gibbs and illustrated by William H.... Read more

Lancashire: Dickens in Preston Find!

September 3, 2009 4:41 PM from Stephen Miller | Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Obviously not Lancashire born but it was a visit to Lancashire which inspired him to write 'Hard Times'. Set in the fictitious 'Coketown' (based heavily on Preston) it tells the story of the plight of the Victorian... Read more

Lancashire: Buster McGraw Find!

September 3, 2009 4:40 PM from Stephen Miller | Buster McGraw- Jacob's Trouble (1992) - Partly set in the small Lancashire village of Wheelton, Jacob's Trouble is a strange work of fiction.  Set in the not too distant future, Britain is at war with Europe leading to nuclear fall... Read more

Hampshire: John Keat's Ode to Autumn Find!

September 3, 2009 1:35 PM from Cordelia Gray | In the Spring of 1891 Keats travelled to the Isle of Wight where he spent a week and later that year he stayed in Winchester. Following the death of his mother in 1810, Keats was sent by his guardians to be... Read more

Cumbria: Surrounding loveliness Find!

September 3, 2009 10:05 AM from Mary Rossall | "I started on the scaling in Tup Close, and found that the time taken for twenty-five piles was one hour, including a break for a few puffs at a pipe. The sun had come out. Harter Fell stood clear and... Read more

Cumbria: Haweswater by Sarah Hall Find!

September 2, 2009 8:35 PM from Helen | Today I have been at Ulverston Library where I had arranged an author event with Sarah Hall.   Sarah was speaking about her latest novel, How to Paint A Dead Man which has been longlisted for this year's Man... Read more

Kent: The Altar in the Loft Find!

September 2, 2009 12:21 PM from Rob Illingworth | All the local history collections in Kent Libraries & Archives include fictional works. This could be fiction written by authors with local connections, or fiction that evokes local places. Often, the fiction sections of the local history collections are overlooked. So, for me, Reading Detectives... Read more

Lancashire: Francis Thompson (1859-1907) Find!

September 1, 2009 9:15 PM from Sophie | Well, I said there would be more to follow, and here it is...   Francis Thompson was born in Preston to devout middle-class Catholic parents.  This religious upbringing was to remain a continuing influence throughout his life and work.  As... Read more

Cumbria: Coast to Coast by Jan Minshull Find!

September 1, 2009 7:48 PM from Helen | This find is posted on behalf of one of our group members, Janet. Janet has been busy reading a book called Coast to Coast by Jan Minshull. This is a book about a woman, a wife and a mother, who... Read more

Cumbria: Sunshine To The Sunless Find!

September 1, 2009 7:46 PM from Anne | This is a blog for two of our members, Pat and Janet. Janet ~ The main character is a teenager, Andy, who witnessed the deaths of 2 tourists, a father and son, in the quicksands of the Duddon Estuary off... Read more

Cumbria: Geese, cattle wallopers and secret Irish paths Find!

September 1, 2009 7:40 PM from Mary Rossall | This is the title of a book by Irvine Hunt which was published in 2008. Having just read Norman Nicholson's autobiography I was interested to discover that Irvine Hunt was good friends with Norman and, in fact, they held joint... Read more

Cumbria: Anarchists, Angels and wet Bank Holiday Mondays Find!

August 31, 2009 10:51 PM from Helen | Today is August Bank Holiday Monday and true to form, the weather has been vile in south Cumbria! A stiff breeze and patchy showers gave way to an even stiffer wind and a torrential downpour complete with thunder as the day progressed. Having... Read more

Hampshire: William Lisle Bowles, poet Find!

August 31, 2009 4:00 PM from Rachel the editor | William Lisle Bowles (1762-1850) was a clergyman, poet, and critic -- a writer both educated in and inspired by Hampshire. Although born in Northamptonshire, he attended Winchester College and held various clerical posts in Wiltshire. He was a prolific poet,... Read more

Cumbria: A more unconventional kind of find...? Find!

August 30, 2009 11:56 PM from Helen | You don't get a blog from me in ages then just like buses, three come along at once! The internet is a brilliant tool for any Reading Detective, and it also means that many "finds" can be instantly accessed by... Read more

Cumbria: Skiddaw Summit by Kathleen Jones Find!

August 30, 2009 11:03 PM from Helen | Many years ago - more years now than I care to recollect! - I decided that I would like to celebrate my birthday by climbing one of Cumbria's highest peaks, and, hopefully achieving the summit! The fact that my birthday is 4... Read more

Cumbria: Thorstein of the Mere: A Saga of the Northmen in Lakeland Find!

August 30, 2009 7:33 PM from Helen |   I can't believe how quickly time passes and I was astounded to discover that a month has passed since I made my first blog entry! I haven't been slacking though, and apart from 2 weeks away on holiday I... Read more

Cumbria: Wednesday Early Closing Find!

August 30, 2009 4:34 PM from Mary Rossall | This is the title of Norman Nicholson's autobiography published in 1975. Norman Nicholson was born in Millom in 1914 and lived all his life in the same house in St George's Terrace. He is obviously best known for his wonderful... Read more

Hampshire: Future Princes of Winchester Find!

August 30, 2009 3:29 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | I think I have always been aware that The Prince in Waiting trilogy by John Christopher (Samuel Youd) was set in and around a future Winchester, but as I am not a great Science Fiction fan I hadn't ever given... Read more

Cumbria: Smoke Across The Fell Find!

August 27, 2009 7:34 PM from Anne | Graham Sutton, the author of Smoke Across The Fell, was a notable Cumbrian writer who died in 1959 at the age of 67. He was born in Scotby and educated at St Bees (on the Cumberland coast) and Queen College,... Read more

Hampshire: Spike Island by Philip Hoare Find!

August 27, 2009 4:22 PM from Rose Ratcliffe | The subtitle of this book is The Memory of a Military Hospital and it is the story of the Royal Victoria Military Hospital at Netley.Philip Hoare's exploration of the military hospital is a fascinating read. Philip was born and grew... Read more

Kent: Regency and Georgian Literature with a Kent Connection Find!

August 27, 2009 3:35 PM from Michelle | Hi Super Sleuths,    Here is a FIND!  Regency and Georgian Literature with a Kent Connection which  Rob Illingworth has dug up.  They tie in nicely with our Jane Austen heritage link.    Sir (Samuel) Egerton Brydges- S.E. Brydges bought & rebuilt... Read more

Kent: Jane Austen and Godmersham by The Rev. S. Graham Brade-Birks Find!

August 27, 2009 2:36 PM from Michelle | Hi Folks,   A Find! I'm currently reading a little slip of a book which is a little gem of information on Jane Austen and her connections to Godmersham in Kent. The information that is in the 13 pages of the... Read more

Hampshire: A travel diarist in Hampshire - John Byng Find!

August 25, 2009 10:27 AM from Jane the Archivist | After Melesina Trench's poem about her uncomfortable experience in a Hampshire hostelry, I've now come across a travel diarist who spent much of his time lamenting the state of the inns he stayed in.  John Byng (a nephew of the... Read more

Cumbria: The Sand Pilot of Morecambe Bay Find!

August 24, 2009 10:09 AM from ChrisS | Before the advent of the railway, the main route from Lancaster to the Furness Peninsula was across the sands of Morecambe Bay, an area beset by quicksands and ever-changing channels. There is evidence that a guide was appointed in the... Read more

Cumbria: The Chronicles of Boggerthwaite Find!

August 24, 2009 8:24 AM from ChrisS | After enjoying a second historical novel by Graham Sutton, I have turned to something completely different, the Chronicles of Boggerthwaite, pronounced Boggerthit, an everyday story of Lakeland folk, by northern writer David Bean.  This hilarious book is based on a his... Read more

Cumbria: Carrock Fell Find!

August 23, 2009 2:59 PM from Mary Rossall | After enjoying the exploits of the 'Two Idle Apprentices' as they climbed Carrock Fell I have just discovered this poem which I thought they would have enjoyed reading. It is in a collection of poems called "Give or Take" by... Read more

Derbyshire: Mysterious Mermaid in Derbyshire Find!

August 21, 2009 4:20 PM from Will Newman | Interesting to see the way this site is working.  Angela posted an entry about a long forgotten ballad on The Mermaid's Pool near Hayfield and this has triggered a response from  Derbyshire poet, Jeremy Duffield, who was inspired to write about... Read more

Derbyshire: Ghost walks Find!

August 20, 2009 7:19 PM from Blythe Aimson | I have just read a book on ghost wallks around derbyshire, there was a range of walks in the area and a few good nuggets of infomation, but overall was very disappointing. The few ghost stories that were in it... Read more

Cumbria: Feet in the Clouds Find!

August 20, 2009 4:00 PM from Mary Rossall | This is the title of a book which was published in 2004 and which won Richard Askwith, the author, the Best New Writer prize at the British Sports Publishing Awards. It is a tale of fell-running and obsession. For those of... Read more

Kent: Kent Clues! Find!

August 20, 2009 10:14 AM from Michelle | Hello Kent Reading Detectives,    I have had a email of Kentish 'Clues' from Chris Bull who has given us some fantastic suggestions for Kentish Authors we might like to look at.   Happy Reading!     Dear Michelle,   ... Read more

Kent: My books Find!

August 20, 2009 9:07 AM from Vivian Branson | The Longest Journey by EM Forster was the first one I read and after being immersed in Jane Austen for three months this was completely different.  Really depressing but I couldn't put it down.  I would like to have the... Read more

Cumbria: Hercules and the Farmer's Wife Find!

August 19, 2009 7:34 PM from Mary Rossall | This curious title belongs to a book published in 2009 by Chris Wadsworth. Chris is the owner of Castlegate Gallery in Cockermouth and the book is the story of how she moved to Cumbria, bought Castlegate House and turned it... Read more

Hampshire: Nevil Shute and Langstone connection Find!

August 19, 2009 12:31 PM from Penny | I've just been re-reading Nevil Shute's novel "Requiem For A Wren" which is set in the Exbury and Beaulieu river area of Hampshire during WW11. He seems to have rather gone out of fashion these days but I can thoroughly recommend his books... Read more

Cumbria: Shepherd's Warning Find!

August 18, 2009 9:30 PM from ChrisS | What  a fascinating project this is, giving us the opportunity to read books about the Lake District of which we were previously unaware.  I have enjoyed 'Shepherd's Warning', a novel by Graham Sutton written in 1946 but set on the west... Read more

Hampshire: The marriage of souls Find!

August 18, 2009 6:44 PM from Rose Ratcliffe | Have just discovered this book by author Warwick Collins, who now lives in Lymington. Set in Lymington at the end of the eighteenth century it makes very interesting reading and I've already learnt a lot about the area.... Read more

Hampshire: Rural Rides: William Cobbett Find!

August 18, 2009 12:29 PM from Cordelia Gray | William Cobbett was born in 1763, the son of a farmer and innkeeper.  He began his career as a journalist in America, where he had fled after blowing the whistle on military corruption.  He returned to England in 1800 and in... Read more

Derbyshire: The poet and the pool..... Find!

August 18, 2009 9:37 AM from Angela Wilkinson | David Bell's book "Derbyshire Ghosts and legends" refers to the legend of the Mermaid's Pool near Hayfield..."The mermaid's Pool near Kinder Reservoir is a lonely and desolate place. No fish live in it, no animals will drink from it, and... Read more

Hampshire: Elinor Brent-Dyer remembered Find!

August 18, 2009 9:22 AM from Penny | Westbury Manor Museum in Fareham have found the following memory of Elinor Brent-Dyer in the August 1987 edition of Fareham Past & Present. It was contributed by J.O. Hall who wrote: "My mother was friendly with Mrs Baylis who mentioned that she... Read more

Lancashire: Ammon Wrigley Find!

August 17, 2009 5:49 PM from Stephen Miller | Ammon Wrigley (1861-1946) - He wrote poetry, prose, and antiquarian works and was highly regarded in his own day, though the fame he achieved in his life time he always shunned, preferring a quite moorland life.  His works reflect a... Read more

Cumbria: The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices Find!

August 17, 2009 3:52 PM from Mary Rossall | In Neil Curry's book 'The Cumberland Coast' he mentions a visit to Cumbria by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. This intrigued me so I located a copy of the book which they wrote - thank you Carlisle Library - and... Read more

Cumbria: I've been so busy reading I haven't had time to blog! Find!

August 17, 2009 2:20 PM from Mary Rossall | The library has been so busy this last couple of weeks with summer activities for the children and library staff on holiday that I haven't had time to record my finds. Anyway here goes! I have been on a bit... Read more

Hampshire: Dornford Yates' Hampshire connection Find!

August 16, 2009 7:16 PM from Rachel the editor | I've spent the afternoon driving around the New Forest -- sometimes in a dog cart but mostly in a lovely Rolls. I've watched as my companions bought a stolen caravan, put one over on a jumped-up, nouveau landowner, and thwarted... Read more

Hampshire: The Marlows, their maker and stealing a corner of Dorset Find!

August 14, 2009 6:44 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | The author Antonia Forest spent all of her writing career living in Bournemouth. Now I know Bournemouth isn't in Hampshire NOW, but it was until 1974, and as Antonia Forest wrote eleven of her 13 books before 1974 I am... Read more

Derbyshire: More murder in the Peak District Find!

August 14, 2009 3:24 PM from Will Newman | Just finished reading The Edge by Chris Simms.  Chris normally writes gritty crime stories based in Manchester but in this book the action moves out into the Peak District.  Edale, Buxton, Glossop are all mentioned but the fictional town of... Read more

Hampshire: Saint Cross: England's Oldest Almshouse Find!

August 11, 2009 11:06 AM from Cordelia Gray | Peter Hopewell's history of St Cross was published by Phillimore in 1995 as a limited edition, shortly before his sudden death.   Peter was an Oxford history graduate, a former headmaster and Chief Examiner for the old 'O' level examinations.  He was also... Read more

Hampshire: Winchester the whole day through Find!

August 10, 2009 10:20 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | Patrick Gale was born in 1962 on the Isle of Wight (which was once a part of Hampshire but is no longer) but grew up and was educated in Winchester; first at Pilgrims School and later at Winchester College. Gale's... Read more

Hampshire: HOW TO BE A BETTER PERSON Find!

August 10, 2009 6:46 PM from Cordelia Gray | 'How to be a better person' published in 2009, is Seb Hunter's fourth book, and follows his attempts to improve himself by signing up for as many different types of volunteering as possible.  The book sets out firstly to entertain,... Read more

Hampshire: Otterbourne's Enid Blyton? Charlotte M. Yonge (1823-1901) Find!

August 9, 2009 4:32 PM from Rachel the editor | One of the great appeals of the Reading Detectives project is the impetus it's given me to explore my new home. I moved to Otterbourne 18 months ago and, while quickly getting to know the local pubs and walks, have... Read more

Hampshire: Odo's Hanging is missing Find!

August 7, 2009 2:15 PM from Madelaine - the book thief | Don't you just hate it when you go looking for a book on your shelves and it isn't there? It isn't where it should be and it isn't anywhere else either. I had been thinking about the book Odo's Hanging by... Read more

Hampshire: The Warden Find!

August 7, 2009 10:53 AM from Cordelia Gray | The Warden was Anthony Trollope's fourth novel and the first in the series known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire published in 1855. Trollope, was briefly a scholar at Winchester College but was unhappy there.  He was scruffy and a... Read more

Hampshire: Charles Kingsley's Letters Find!

August 6, 2009 10:28 PM from Cordelia Gray | Charles Kingsley (1819-1875), author of the Water Babies plays a significant part in the history of the village of Eversley in North Hampshire.  He was appointed as the curate in 1842 and from 1844 to 1875 was the rector and... Read more

Hampshire: Owslebury Bottom Find!

August 6, 2009 7:08 PM from Cordelia Gray | Owslebury Bottom, published in 1991 by Peter Hewett, was brought to my notice by his niece, who has retired with her husband to Winchester.  Although it is now out of print it can still be purchased from Amazon.    In... Read more

Hampshire: See it My Way Find!

August 6, 2009 2:16 PM from Cordelia Gray | Peter White MBE is a veteran broadcaster and was brought up in Winchester where he still lives.  At weekends he can often be found watching Southampton when they play at home.   The prologue to Peter's autobiography begins by taking the reader... Read more

Hampshire: Introduction to Melesina Trench Find!

August 5, 2009 4:53 PM from Jane the Archivist | I was first introduced to Melesina Trench (1768-1827) when, as a volunteer at Hampshire Record Office, I was asked to précis some of her letters. I was instantly hooked to a life in archives!  Her writing style was lively... Read more

Hampshire: Some Hampshire road signs read Jane Austen Country Find!

August 5, 2009 10:52 AM from Madelaine - the book thief | I'm off to Chawton today to visit the Jane Austen House Museum, and here I have to come clean and mention that I have actually worked for the Museum for the last twelve months. July saw the 200th anniversary of... Read more

Derbyshire: Inspired by the Peak Find!

August 5, 2009 10:20 AM from Ruth Gordon | Have you had a look at www.peaklandheritage.org.uk ? In the Inspired by the Peak section there are some interesting leads including some old and unusual poetry and ballads. There's legends and folklore and stuff like that in the Digging Deeper section too.  Ruth  ... Read more

Derbyshire: Bygone Derbyshire clues Find!

August 4, 2009 12:55 AM from Will Newman | I've just been looking at some possible links to authors in Derbyshire and around Buxton and the High Peak.  "Bygone Derbyshire" is run by the Derby Evening Telegraph and has information about forgotten crime writer John Buxton Hilton, links with... Read more

Derbyshire: Finished! Find!

August 3, 2009 5:21 PM from Frances Hall | I have just finished my first "Reading Dectectives" book, Stephen Booth's Black Dog. It was brilliant - slightly surreal and yet captivating reading descriptions of a country I grew up and lived my whole life in. However, the charachters have... Read more

Hampshire: Flora Thompson: published poet Find!

August 3, 2009 12:29 PM from Angela Hicken | Flora Thompson View image is the author of 'Lark Rise to Candleford', recently popularised through a major television series.  She worked in the post office in Grayshott, east Hampshire just before 1900, alias the fictional 'Heatherley', aptly named for the... Read more

Cumbria: It was a wet and windy night.... Find!

July 30, 2009 5:00 PM from Mary Rossall | It was a wet and windy night in Grange-over-Sands but the Reading Detectives didn't have time to worry about the weather. They were too busy discussing their latest finds and deciding what to read next! The meeting began with a... Read more

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