CRIME AND CRIMINALS IN VICTORIAN KENT by Adrian Gray

Crime and Criminals in Victorian Kent by Adrian Gray (Meresborough books ISBN 0905270967)

also Crime and Criminals in Victorian Essex by Adrian Gray.

This is a very easy to read, straightforward account of various forms of criminal occurences across the county in Victorian times. Opening with the rather expected sections on Murder and manslaughter, through theft and onto sex crimes, Gray then covers Politics and incendiarism (or arson as we call it), assault and smugglers, before rounding it off with short chapters on policing and the poor law.

Throughout the cases Gray recalls, he demonstrates a good awareness and understanding of the social contexts of the time, and tells the tales with a nice sense of humour. The cases themselves seem to largely come from press reports or court records, and appear to be pretty reliable, and are well presented giving the reader a good solid basis for understanding some of the motives - or lack of - that lead these folks down the path they ended up!

For family historians in general, these books provide the reader with a lot of social history in an accessible format, and can often provoke ideas about how further research into ones own ancestors might be pursued. For readers with ancestors in the Counties covered, both books contain a list of places mentioned and principle 'characters' discussed. For those fortunate enough to find family members discussed inside, it will be a massive bonus! But even for those with ancestors in the villages mentioned, in addition to the general social context gained by reading this book, you will be reading about events that might well have directly or indirectly impacted on your ancestors lives if even for a short period. Would the local riot have been the topic for discussion at your ancestors pub that week? Or would your ancestor have shopped at the butchers who killed one of his customers?

Fascinating reading, but both books follow a very, very similar format - right down to the phrases used - so perhaps getting both books might prove a little pointless unless one has ancestors in both counties!

OUR VILLAGE by Mary Russell Mitford

OUR VILLAGE by Mary Russell Mitford (Bracken Books 1992)

Originally published as an ongoing series articles in 'The Lady's Journal' during the 1820s, and released in a collected format in 1824, 'Our Village' is an everyday account of the Berkshire village of Three Mile Cross in the parish of Shinfield. This particular edition is beautifully illustrated throughout by paintings and details from the period that relate directly with the subject under discussion, thus providing an enchanting visual reference to complement the pictures being drawn by the text.

It does have to be said that whilst the language is very rich in description and in telling the tales of everyday life in the rural hamlet, the story presented does seem rather rosy and idyllic, which whilst chiming nicely with a popular romantic image of rural life in the past - and which presumably catered for the refined tastes of the readers of the aforementioned Journal - sits a little less easy with the picture presented by other rural accounts of the time. Perhaps the inhabitants of Three Mile Cross were just lucky... or perhaps Ms Mitford saw only what she chose to see?

Despite this possible drawback, the information packed into these pages is of immense value for anyone trying to get a feel for what rural life was like on a day to day basis in the 1820s. The characters Mitford draws of the inhabitants, their habits, their homes and their professional goings on are a joy to read, and impart all sorts of villagey folklore and popular thought. The days spent watching people enjoy the snowfalls, or going to the races, or experiencing the country cricket match give the reader a closeness to the people of the time unrivalled in drier academic tomes, and consequently bring our own ancestors that bit more to life in our imaginations.

For this reason alone, this book would be fascinating reading for family historians - and absolutely essential for anyone with early 19th Century ancestors living in our near Three Mile Cross, who may well find themselves unearthing a pen picture of their very own forebears!

An enjoyable, if slightly twee, portrayal of rural life from long ago that is well worth dipping into.

Available online in downloadable formats, but only in the old priint versions and without the equally useful paintings.