avg_rating: 4.25
name: Janet Few
about: The Jesuits say ‘give me a child until they are seven and I will show you the man’, or woman of course. When I was seven I spent my time making up impossibly large families in ‘my famerley book’ (spelling was not a strong point). I also wrote long stories or played complicated, extended games of schools. Although I enjoyed ‘dressing up’, I hadn’t yet started donning period costume but most other aspects of my current life were there in embryonic form.Although I have, I hope, a reputation as an academic historian, I believe good history is for everyone. As The History Interpreter, I aim to bring history alive in a variety of ways. I am passionate about encouraging young people to become interested in the past, especially through living histo The Jesuits say ‘give me a child until they are seven and I will show you the man’, or woman of course. When I was seven I spent my time making up impossibly large families in ‘my famerley book’ (spelling was not a strong point). I also wrote long stories or played complicated, extended games of schools. Although I enjoyed ‘dressing up’, I hadn’t yet started donning period costume but most other aspects of my current life were there in embryonic form.Although I have, I hope, a reputation as an academic historian, I believe good history is for everyone. As The History Interpreter, I aim to bring history alive in a variety of ways. I am passionate about encouraging young people to become interested in the past, especially through living history or family history. Many of my ideas are shared in my booklet Harnessing the Facebook Generation: ideas for involving young people in family history and heritage. I spend part of my time as my alter ego, Mistress Agnes, living in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, managing the Swords and Spindles team of historical interpreters. My social history book Coffers, Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs: the lives of our seventeenth century ancestors, emerged out of this experience. I am particularly interested in the role of women in the past and helped eighty ladies recall their memories of the pivotal period 1946-1969. These have been merged together in Remember Then: women’s memories of 1946-1969 and how to write your own.I enjoy dissecting small, rural communities and trying to understand how they functioned in the past. I have written a guide to that peculiar blend of local and family history that is one place studies Putting Your Ancestors in their Place. I also research my own family history, with an emphasis on putting the lives of my ancestors into a wider context. I am responsible for the latest edition of the classic family history handbook Family Historian’s Enquire Within. Recently, I was persuaded to return to fiction writing, something that I had not done since my angst-ridden teenage years. Blue Poppy Publishing will be launching Barefoot on the Cobbles on 17 November 2018. The story is based on a real scandal that lay hidden for nearly a century and includes murder, shipwrecks, disease and some lighter moments! Rooted in its unique and beautiful geographical setting, here is the unfolding of a past that reverberates unhappily through the decades and of raw emotions that are surprisingly modern in character. You can read about my chaotic historical life on the blog at https://thehistoryinterpreter.wordpre... under Latest News from the History Interpreter do click ‘follow’ if you want to keep up to date. You can also follow me on Twitter @janetfew but be warned, I have no idea where I am going. ...more