Richard D. Ryder, The Calcrafts of Rempstone Hall: The Intriguing History of a Dorset Dynasty.
This is a book on many levels. It is full of light-hearted incident and period colour. It is also a biography of a family covering some 250 years. At one level it is a book about sex, murder, mystery and black magic. At another, it is about the serious business of national politics and war. But it is also about the every day lives of a dynasty of Dorset squires, their loves, hopes and fears, and their roles in the complexities of the British class system. The author makes several discoveries of historical importance: for example that one of his characters was the man behind Junius, the mysterious and influential eighteenth century pamphleteer, and that another was probably murdered because of the crucial role he played in the passage of the Great Reform Bill. It is a fascinating story of soldiers, actresses and a haunted house. The author also suggests some serious messages for British society today.
- Publisher : Halsgrove; 1st Edition (1 April 2005)
- Language: : English
- Hardcover : 128 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1841144568
- ISBN-13 : 978-1841144566