So ye all know I'm an Ulsterman based in Scotland, but on the basis that my brother was Plymouth born and bred, and was known by my mum as the 'Devonshire Dumpling', along with the fact it includes research into witchcraft, plague, war and just about everything else you want from your family history, this one definitely gets in!
This is the latest book from genie pal Janet Few, and it sounds like a cracker...
Sins as Red as Scarlet: the True Story of a Devon Town in Turmoil
by Janet Few
New Novel Tells the True Story of Bideford’s Tumultuous Past
Local author and historian, Janet Few, has just released her second historical novel, which is set in Devon.
Sins as Red as Scarlet is based on actual events that took place between 1640 and 1682; a time when the Age of Reason had begun and scientific thought was ousting superstitious belief. The menacing days of the witchfinder had all but gone. Nevertheless, in Devon’s county town, three impoverished women were condemned to death for the crime of witchcraft. They came from Bideford, a prosperous port, with flourishing tobacco warehouses and ships departing for the Newfoundland cod-banks or taking pottery across the Atlantic. It was a time of plague, of war and of religious dissent, all of which fashioned the prejudices and fears of the town’s inhabitants.
There is also a modern strand to the book, which follows sixteen-year-old Martha, as she researches the seventeenth century history of her home-town and comes to realise that human nature does not change; intolerance and peer pressure have always exerted their power. Yet there have been and still are, those who stand aside from the bigotry and the victimisation. Probing the motivations and beliefs of Bideford’s seventeenth century residents, Martha comes to understand how past events might lead ordinary people to become the victims, the accusers, or the accused. In the process, Martha finds a new resilience, enabling her to rise above those who seek to demean her.
Janet, who is known internationally in the world of genealogy, has meticulously researched the life of each of her characters, using the techniques of the family historian. In this way, she has uncovered some facts that are not widely known about the individuals who feature in her story. She says “My work as an historical interpreter means that I live in the seventeenth century, in the guise of my alter ego Mistress Agnes. She is a formidable goodwife of a certain age, who leads a somewhat chaotic life during the time of the English Civil War. Writing this book was a wonderful opportunity to use both my knowledge of the social history of that time and also my genealogical background, as I describe Martha’s research. I am fascinated by human behaviour and I was keen to draw parallels between witchcraft accusations and modern-day bullying.”
There are plenty of topical references in the book; the general election, Brexit and Bideford’s ‘Little White Town’ controversy all get a mention but writing the part of the novel that is set in 2020 was particularly challenging, Janet reveals.
“Firstly, I had to remember what it was like to be sixteen. As I am still waiting to grow up, this wasn’t too difficult. What was more of a problem was that a significant part of the narrative takes place between June and September 2020 and the writing was almost complete when it became apparent that 2020 would not be an ordinary year. After much consideration, I decided that Martha should inhabit an alternative version of the year 2020. Although the seventeenth century portion of the book is based on fact, this is after all a novel. So, COVID-19 does exist in Martha’s world but its effects are far less severe.”
Always keen to collaborate with others who work in the creative industries, Janet has published the book through the North Devon publishing collective Blue Poppy Publishing
bluepoppypublishing.co.uk. As with her previous novel, Janet worked with musician Dan Britton
www.danbritton.co.uk, whose family are rooted in North Devon. He has composed a compelling companion song to the book. The powerful cover was designed by local artist, Robin Paul, of The Branch Line
www.facebook.com/TheBranchLine. In addition, on the day that
Sins as Red as Scarlet was launched, Janet’s earlier novel,
Barefoot on the Cobbles, also based on a real Devon tragedy, became available as an audio book. This has been produced by Devon-based voice artists Circle of Spears Productions
www.circleofspears.com.
Sins as Red as Scarlet can be obtained from Bideford bookshop, Walter Henry’s, from Blue Poppy Publishing and from the author. The first 500 purchasers who order directly from Janet, will also receive a complimentary copy of her social history of the seventeenth century
Coffers, Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs. For details of this offer see
thehistoryinterpreter.wordpress.com/historical-novels/sins-as-red-as-scarlet-the-story-of-a-devon-town-in-turmoil/.
Sins as Red as Scarlet is also available on Kindle from
www.amazon.co.uk/Sins-Red-Scarlet-Devon-Turmoil-ebook/dp/B08G1HQRS4.
COMMENT: Definitely looking forward to reading this!
(With thanks to Janet)
Chris
My next 5 week
Scottish Research Online course starts August 31st - see
https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. My book
Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at
http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is now out, also available are
Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at
http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and
Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at
http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on
The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter
@genesblog.
