The Book Trunk

chrisharding53

  • Snapshot of a Lighthouse with no Light!

    Lighthouse on a hill: The Sir John Barrow Monument in Cumbria. Today’s Saturday Snapshot may look like a lighthouse on a hill, but it’s never had a lamp, and it’s not on the coast (although it does look out across… Continue reading

  • A Heroine who is Hard to Like

    Henrietta was third daughter and fifth child of Mr and Mrs Symons, so that enthusiasm for babies had declined in both parents by the time she arrived. Still, in her first few months she was bound to be important and… Continue reading

  • Gardens and Wild Places

    Two reviews today as I’m still trying to catch up on posts. The reading is more or less on track, but the writing isn’t! There’s a link of sorts between these books, since they are both about about the environment,… Continue reading

  • Gunpowder Plot

    Not having written anything for a week, I think I’ve forgotten how to do it, so forgive me if this post doesn’t pan out quite as planned! I’ve been at my mother’s again, as she is still not well, and… Continue reading

  • Downfall of a Victorian Fraudster

    Jabez, pictured on the front cover, wasdescribed by contemporaries as being short  and stout with spindly legs. Jabez Spencer Balfour was a Victorian businessman and MP who had some very creative accounting methods. When his fraud was discovered and his massive… Continue reading