Hello from Kent! I hope this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying the build-up towards Christmas. Life has been very hectic here, juggling Christmas preparations with a variety of ongoing projects. Latest releases Ghost Swifts, Blue Poppies and the Red Star On the 11/11/18 I released my historical fiction, Ghost Swifts, Blue Poppies and the Red Star. The date of release was a deliberate choice, as the story opens in Sussex on the day of the Armistice in 1918. This is my first story not to involve Morton Farrier; the lead character is Harriet Agnes McDougall, who was actually my first cousin four-times-removed. Although the story is fictional, the basics of the family and some story elements are real. Although I must confess to missing Morton, I really loved writing Harriet’s character and her journey in discovering what happened to her son on the battlefields of Ypres. I’m pleased to say that Harriet will be back at some point in the not-too-distant future for the second book in what I hope will become a series. I’m very grateful for all of the positive reviews, which this book has already achieved – thank you! If you would like further information on the book, click here. |
|
|
For those of you who have already read the story, you may be interested in the blog, which I have written entitled The Real Harriet Agnes McDougall. It includes a wonderful old photograph of Harriet, taken when she was around the age of fourteen. Click here to read the blog, but beware, it contains spoilers! I have also put together a short video on my YouTube channel about Harriet Agnes McDougall. It includes some factual aspects of her life, as well as some of those fictionalised in the story. Click here to watch the video, but again, it contains spoilers! The Asylum As you may be aware from my previous newsletters or my social media channels, I have been working on a short Morton Farrier story, which will act as a prequel to Hiding the Past. The story is called The Asylum and is 25,000 words in length (around a quarter of a full-length novel) and will be made available digitally (for all e-reader devices, including Kindle and Kobo) for FREE! Yes, that’s correct: for free! The reason for this is two-fold: firstly, it is a way of saying thank-you to all my loyal readers, who have followed Morton’s adventures so far, and secondly, as a way of attracting new readers to the series. The story will be first released via an exclusive link in the Christmas Day edition of the LostCousins newsletter. If you don’t already subscribe to the newsletter, click here. |
|
|
LostCousins Speaking of LostCousins, I’m delighted to be able to offer my newsletter readers the exclusive offer of free membership to new subscribers to this fantastic website. Simply visit LostCousins and enter the code MORTON into the registration page. For anyone unfamiliar with the website, it ‘is the only family history website able to match you with others researching the same ancestors automatically, accurately and confidentially.’ A regular newsletter with the latest genealogical news, offers and some great tips and hints is a welcome bonus. Audiobooks I’m delighted to see a significant uptake in audiobook listeners over the last two months, and am very pleased to say that The Orange Lilies (book #3 in the series) is now available in this format, joining Hiding the Past, The Lost Ancestor and The Spyglass File. As usual, it can be purchased from iTunes, Audible or Amazon. If you have already purchased the Kindle versions of any of these books, then the audiobook is available at a significantly reduced price from Amazon. Click here for further information. |
|
|
Book four in the series, The America Ground is currently in production and should be available by Spring 2019, and I’m really pleased to be able to say that the audiobook version of Ghost Swifts, Blue Poppies and the Red Star is nearing the end of the production process and will be available very soon. Keep your eye on my Twitter and Facebook pages for that imminent announcement! Current Projects Many of you will be pleased to know that I am in the research stage of the next full-length instalment of the Forensic Genealogist series. I already have the subplot, main characters and a rough idea of the main plot in place and even have two-thirds of the title! This stage of writing can take an indefinable amount of time, whilst I gather together copious amounts of notes. I have a large selection of books on my desk, which need to be read in detail and last week I spent two days in London conducting research. One day was spent at the London Metropolitan Archives, the other at the National Archives (where I sat in Morton’s seat!). When I visit these repositories, I tend not to get too bogged down in the records at the time, but photograph them to digest later at home, thus giving more precious time at the archives. I’m going to make a short film of the writing process, for those of you who are interested in how my novels get to the finished stage. I can only apologise in advance for my ramblings! |
|
|
Trips & Visits I really wanted to be somewhere significant for the Armistice centenary commemorations and decided to spend the weekend at the National Memorial Arboretum, a centre of remembrance on a 150-acre site in Staffordshire, containing 350 memorials to the country’s war dead. For me, one of the most striking was the ‘Shot at Dawn’ memorial, dedicated to the 309 young men of the First World War who were executed by firing squad for desertion. The statue was modelled on seventeen-year-old Herbert Burden, who is surrounded by wooden stakes upon which are written the names of all the soldiers shot for desertion. |
|
|
On the evening of the 10th November I attended a moving candlelit-vigil at the Armed Forces Memorial and, on the Armistice Centenary itself, a full commemoration service at which were present over 10,000 veterans, thousands of members of the public and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. It was a very poignant tribute to the millions of people who had lost their lives in the First World War. Although several men in my family were killed in this conflict, thankfully my four great grandfathers, who all served in the armed forces, returned physically unscathed. |
|
|
On a more upbeat note, I recently enjoyed two great author talks. One, by Duncan Barrett, was about the research, which went into his book, Hitler’s British Isles, about the invasion and occupation of the Channel Islands during WW2. Another very informative and amusing talk came from one of my favourite historians, Dan Snow. He spoke about his latest book release, On this Day in History. Of course, I had to purchase a signed copy of each of these books to add to my already-groaning bookshelves! |
|
|
Upcoming Events There have been one or two changes to the events, at which I had previously listed my attendance. Unfortunately, the Kent Family History Society Open Day has been cancelled and, as things stand, I am not certain of being able to attend Rootstech London. The cost of exhibiting there is rather exorbitant; in fact, it is cheaper for me to fly to Salt Lake City and exhibit there than to attend London. I am pleased, however, to add to my attendance the Devon FHS Conference in October next year, where I will be speaking on the subject of ‘Using Fact in Fiction’. I hope to see some of you at these events! 27th February - 2nd March 2019 – Rootstech, Salt Lake City 26th April – 27th April 2019 – Family Tree Live, London 7th June – 8th June 2019 – THE Genealogy Show 5th October 2019 – The Devon FHS Conference, Exeter Family History In a moment between looking at documents at the London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) for the next Morton Farrier book, I spent a little time returning to the records for the Wandsworth Lunatic Asylum. I first became aware that my great-great-great-grandfather, Charles Goodwin had been incarcerated in this asylum when I received his death certificate back in April 1999. This discovery led me to visit the actual hospital and the LMA in order to search their records for the period of Charles’ confinement. I had easily located Charles in the Admissions Register and also the Discharge & Death Register, which told me that he had entered the asylum on the 6th January 1860, aged 40, from his home of 3 Archbishops Place, Lambeth. The reason for his admission was given as ‘dementia’, the cause of which was stated to be unknown. His bodily condition was described as ‘thin but otherwise in good health’. Charles died there six months later on the 17th June of ‘brain disease’. Back in 1999 I was unable to photograph the entries, so on this visit, I took the opportunity to do so. This time around, once I had photographed the entries, I double-checked to see if there were any other records available for the time during which Charles was in the asylum. There were no obvious documents pertaining directly to the patients, but I thought it worthwhile taking a look at the Annual Report for 1860. I’m very pleased that I did, as it provided a great deal of background information about Charles’s time there, which I could not have gained elsewhere. The report opened with the number of patients in the asylum for the year 1860: the 963 males and females in January were joined by an additional 233, making a total of 1,171. Of these, 47 males and 26 females were discharged ‘cured’, 17 males and 20 females were discharged ‘uncured’, 85 males (including Charles Goodwin) and 34 females died. The report added that the ‘long and severe winter of 1859-1860 tired considerably the numerous feeble inmates of the asylum. The mortality in the male division has been large…’ It stated that straw beds had been introduced ‘upon the principle that a sweet and clean bed, stuffed with fresh straw, renewed daily, is more wholesome and more comfortable for the use of dirty patients than hair or coir mattresses dried daily and renewed at intervals’. The report also went on to describe the patients’ clothing and diet: ‘The clothing of the male patients has been improved, specially by the more general use of cotton drawers and Guernseys during the winter months. A small addition has been made to the house diet. The weekly allowance of meat is now 2 lbs 11 oz for the males…’ Included in the statement was a menu for each day of the week. |
|
|
At the end of the Annual Report, I was able finally to learn what had led my 3x-great-grandfather to be admitted to the asylum. A summary of the patient admissions stated that CG, a 40-year-old male had arrived on the 6th January with dementia and that the ‘cause of insanity’ was because of an ‘injury to the head.’ Thanks to the Annual Report I now have a much clearer understanding of what Charles would have worn, eaten, the conditions of the asylum and the reason for his having been there. The report also provided one final piece of information, which bypassed another document still closed to the public, that of the use of ‘mechanical restraints’ on the patients. A summary of the use of straight-jackets and other restraints, stating only the patients’ initials thankfully did not list Charles Goodwin, although ‘JG, a very violent and dangerous patient’ spent 417 hours in a straight-jacket in 1860. If you have ancestors who have spent time in asylums, it is very much worthwhile looking at other documents that at first may not appear to be relevant: you never know what you might learn! Finally, I would like to take this opportunity of thanking you all for your support in 2018—it really is appreciated. I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas. See you in 2019! Nathan |
|
|
|
|
