It is always great to find a book inspired by real people, and even better to find one inspired by the writer's own family research. For today's #HistFicThursdays blog, I am thrilled to be welcoming Alison Huntingford to the blog with a guest post about her book Beyond the Dark Ocean , as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour! Read on to find out about how her own family history inspired her new book, and her process of researching it. But first, let's meet the book... Blurb A family united, a family divided… In 1906, the Huntingford family leaves England for a hopeful new life in Canada, but for eldest son Georgy, the promise of opportunity quickly becomes a test of endurance, responsibility, and fate. As he comes of age amid the hardships of immigrant life, the outbreak of the First World War pulls him back across the ocean and into a world forever changed by loss and sacrifice. When Georgy’s brother disappears in the chaos of war, grief and...
#HistFicThursdays - Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (1st Earl of Minto) - The Burden of Bridging Eras
While the technological advancements of the past century have been so rapid we've all been left with a bit of whiplash, the late eighteenth century was also a time of significant change in western Europe. For many in that generation who lived across events such as the French Revolution, they saw their understanding of the world upturned, and had to quickly learn to adapt to this new world. Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound was one such individual. At first glance, Elliot appears to have been one of those members of the upper class for whom everything naturally fell into place. Born to a baronet, educated to the highest standard, given post after post by those in power. But, delving a little bit deeper, there was more to him than first meets the eye... Friendships he formed in his youth were to be shattered in later life, and he became the champion of failed attempts. The French Revolution saw him torn between early friendships and patriotic duties, and his attempts at command were ...