History, Politics & Society
Lavishly illustrated with images and stunning photographs from private collections and spanning three generations, delve into the history of Thomas Clark and his family…
Rising from obscure beginnings to become a gentleman in the Victorian age dominated by the class system, as a merchant, Thomas was importing exotic produce from around the globe into the City of London. The diaries of his daughter Matilda throw open a window onto the stresses and strains of family life, showing a stereotypical Victorian father (including the bad temper).
Follow his eldest son through his artistic endeavours as a lecturer, writer, poet and artist. There is a shift of perspective on his authoritarian father; here is a devoted family man who adored his wife and spent time with his family. A man dedicated to both science and religion in a world in which he found some new teachings objectionable as an evangelical non-conformist Protestant.
Finally, the life stories of his children unfold, including the author’s grandfather; they were born into privilege but transcended the modern world which saw social change. Moving recollections of lives lived up to the 1950s from children, grandchildren and local residents are revealed.
Read these fascinating tales, including that of the great-uncle who appears to have made an important invention, which played a significant role in winning the Great War – but perhaps someone else ended up claiming the credit?
A fascinating and readable saga of the highest order.
John Titford MA FSA
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
For anyone wanting a detailed and enthusiastic account of a family's history in the 19th-20th centuries this is likely to be a valuable book. Moira writes with both enthusiasm and good judgement. In my extreme old age, I have to take my reading in small doses, so my enthusiasm tends to be with poems rather than long discourse, and there are even these when they are relevant to show the characters' inner concerns. In my early years I knew some of the people in Old Buckenham, my home village, and so they were my main interest.
This is a well written family history based on the author's Victorian ancestry. It is a thorough exploration of the family's ups and downs over an extensive and exciting period in British history with contextual accuracy. Well researched, Ms Walshe has provided us with more than a glimpse into the geographical family tree as well as psychological personality profiles and what those Victorians really got up to. Where the Author is unable to provide evidence of family events and feelings she skilfully navigates the possibilities of how it could have been making this a very readable book indeed.
This book is truly excellent. The author writes so well. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Victorian era. The illustrations are beautiful. You can feel the warmth the author feels towards her ancestors. The poetry at the end gave everything a really personal touch. A phenomenal amount of painstaking research has gone into this book and every minute of it has been worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely read another one by the same author.
Review The Clarks of Crofton Hall One of the striking elements about this book is the meticulous research that has gone into producing it. This is not just the story of the rise of this Victorian family, but the author has brought in fascinating historical detail from the time of each generation. If you are interested in country, politics, and general health of the public from 19th Century it adds to this being a captivating and interesting read. I particularly liked that the Census forms have been evaluated so that we read who was living next door to various family members at certain times. It gives the reader a real sense of time and how families lived. The story is engaging because your sense of gladness for a situation, can turn to sadness when certain incidents happen so it deftly employs your emotions. The poetry, towards the end, is a nice touch and shows depth of feeling expressed by members of the family, in their own words, from times in their lives. The book is nicely produced with smooth pages and well-placed illustrations. I recommend it.
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