With the weekend coming up, I am looking forward to putting down my research books and reading something a little lighter. I normally have a couple of books on the go and I am currently reading work by Doerr and Rubenhold. I am absolutely loving the stunning, lyrical language in Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. The imagery,…
History depends on documents. During my research on Mary Bryant and her family’s inheritance, I have trawled archives, but there are various documents that I have yet to track down. Some are supposed lost to history, but I live in hope that they will be found. Do you know where any of the following are to be found? If so,…
I first came across Mary Bryant’s story on a trip to Sydney in 1987. I had flown from London, but Mary had sailed from Portsmouth on 13 May 1787 on board the Charlotte, one of eleven ships that comprised the First Fleet. The fleet sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and through the perils of the Southern Ocean to…
Every day the average person reads thousands of words. These words come in all forms, from cooking instructions on a food tin, a WhatsApp on our phones or a glance at the heading of a promotional pamphlet that plops through our front door. We cannot avoid words. But meaningful reading, whether for work or pleasure is something else. There is…
