The author compiles a considerable number of sources of information which can shed light of the lives and character of relatives: diaries, letters, annotated photographs and, if you are fortunate, autobiographies. Copious help is given on where you might find such material other than in your personal collection and how best to interpret it.

Full of examples and illustrations, the book provides an insight into how to enrich your knowledge and understanding of previous generations.

Northumberland and Durham FHS Journal - Winter 2022, Volume 47, Number 4

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WDYTYA? Magazine, February 2020

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WDYTYA? Magazine, April 2019

Author features as expert in Q&A feature

WDYTYA? February 2019

Author article on tracing your pre-Victorian ancestors online as featured in

Family Tree, December 2017

It's an absorbing and well-illustrated read, and will be of interest to you whether you're trying to track down your ancestor's written record, or just want to read about our predecessors' attitude towards the written word.

Your Family History, July 2017

This book is well illustrated and has a comprehensive index and list of book and websites for further study.
The enjoyment and satisfaction of writing such an informative book for family historians and having it published professionally must bring just rewards for the hours and years of hard work which the author has put in to it.

Third Age Matters

As well as presenting a fascinating social history of writing in the 19th and 20th centuries, the author encourages us to think about our ancestors' writing skills, including how they may have learned to write, how their vocabulary developed over the years and who they were writing for, as well as giving tips on how to decipher and understand them in historical context.

This is a refreshing and enlightening approach to tracing the lives of those who came before us through the words they wrote; proving that, however apparently inconsequential, you can analyse all sorts of written artefacts left behind by the most ordinary ancestors and perhaps come to better understand them as individuals, not just names on pieces of paper.

Family Tree, February 2017

The great strength of this book is the suggestions it offers for further research, many of which you won't have thought about before. At the end of each chapter is a list of questions to pose when looking at particular writings for your forebears. For example, why were they created and who were they for? The book is also full of useful tips such as making comparisons of your ancestors' signatures with people of different ages and genders, and with previous and subsequent generations; this many help to ascertain changes in their lives such as illness and an increase in education. Also, if you ever have to clear out an elderly relative's house, never send their books to a charity shop without looking through them first. The volumes might include handwritten annotations that could tell you more about their thoughts, hopes and dreams in their life.

The book also highlights an excellent range of online and offline sources to follow up, and it's well illustrated with examples of personal writings; it's an absorbing and thought-provoking read.

WDYTYA? Magazine, February 2017 - reviewed by Michelle Higgs