Name: A Castle in England
ISBN: 9781910620199

Jamie Rhodes

A unique and fascinating series of short stories taking place over five different eras in a English castles past.

A Castle in England

Juliana Matias

So this was an exciting find for me. I actually got this book at Poundland for all of £1. The idea is fascinating - it is a book about Scotney Castle's history, in Kent, from 1381 to 1923, told through comics / short stories. All stories are inspired by real existing evidence and correspondence found in the castle.

There are 5 comics for different eras: the Medieval era is represented by The Labourer, the story of the Peasant's Revolt (1381); the Elizabethan era is portraited by The Priest, a story of the English Reformation (circa 1590); the Georgian era is shown through The Smuggler, a tale of the Georgian smuggling boom (1720); the Victorian era discussed through The Widow, a story of the age of science & progress (1819 to 1855); and finally the Edwardian era is portrayed through The Hunter, talking of the age of empire (1907 to 1923).

The book's structure followed a useful pattern: a family tree of the castle's inhabitants during that time, a small introduction, the comic, followed by a page of explanation and historical context.

The issue for me was that without the explanation at the end, the stories made little to no sense to me, which was quite disappointing. But I enjoyed learning more about English history, so I am pleased I read this.

A Castle in England

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