Gill Blanchard's practical and informative handbook will help you to trace your ancestors in the traditional counties of East Anglia - Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex - and it will give you a fascinating insight into their lives.

As well as guiding the researcher to historical records held in all the relevant archives, she explores the wealth of other resources that add the 'flesh to the bones' of our ancestors' lives. She describes how fascinating information can be discovered about the places they lived in and the important historical events they lived through, and she traces the life stories of notable people from all backgrounds who shaped the region's development over the centuries.

Her account highlights East Anglia's diversity but also focuses on its common features and its strong sense of identity. She starts with a general introduction to its history and geography, then goes on to focus on different aspects of its rich past. In the process she illustrates a wide array of additional research resources that will be revealing for readers who want to find out more about all aspects of life in this area of England.