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BookPick: A Visitor’s Guide to Jane Austen’s England
Posted on March 17, 2015 2 Comments
Now that Thomas Kydd finds himself mingling at the highest levels in English society his horizons have changed immeasurably from those of the humble wig-maker who was press-ganged into the Royal Navy in 1793. Sue Wilke’s book is a very readable eye-witness guide to Kydd’s new world. Packed with detail, and anecdotes, the book is […]
KYDD, My First Book
Posted on January 7, 2014 57 Comments
Looking back at this, the debut novel in the Kydd series, it hardly seems that a decade has passed since I very nervously submitted a proposal to write a series about a young man press-ganged into the Royal Navy, who eventually goes on not only to cross the great divide between the lower deck and […]
Punch, anyone?
Posted on December 1, 2013 6 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] With the Festive Season upon us, it’s easy to partake of perhaps a little too much of the grain and grape. The Georgians could certainly drink their fill. Judging by household accounts for […]
Cauls, Mary Carleton and the Chatham Chest!
Posted on November 20, 2013 4 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] In our household I’m the hoarder; not only physical artefacts from the past, numerous tins of assorted screws & wires, books & journals – but countless snippets and esoteric facts from the Golden […]
An Epoch of Life and Vigour
Posted on November 1, 2013 5 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] Thomas Kydd was born in the Georgian Age, into a family whose livelihood depended on wig-making, a trade that would gradually diminish in importance over the coming years. The Georgian Age, an epoch […]
BookPick: Nelson, Navy & Nation
Posted on October 19, 2013 3 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] This book celebrates the Royal Navy and the British People 1688-1815. As you can imagine, a subject dear to my heart! With an introduction by N A M Rodger, it looks at the […]
For Rent, One Pineapple
Posted on August 24, 2013 8 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] Christopher Columbus encountered the pineapple in 1493 on the island of Guadeloupe. He called it piña de Indes, ‘pine of the Indians’ and brought it back with him to Europe. No-one knows when […]
BookPick: Jane Austen’s England
Posted on July 15, 2013 1 Comment
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] A revealing and spirited account of life ashore in Kydd’s day. Following on from their fascinating accounts of Jack Tar at sea, Roy and Lesley Adkins vividly portray fascinating aspects of the daily […]
Julian Stockwin 