Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, as well as Peterborough City Council, all lay claim to a part of the Fens. Since Roman times, man has increased the land mass in this area by one third of the size. It is the largest plain in the British Isles, covering an area of nearly three-quarters of a million acres and is unique to the UK. The fen people know the area as marsh (land reclaimed from the sea) and fen (land drained from flooding rivers running from the uplands). The Fens are unique in having more miles of navigable waterways than anywhere else in the UK. Mammoth drainage schemes in the seventeenth and eighteenth changed the landscape forever - leading slowly but surely to the area so loved today. Insightful, entertaining and full of rich incident, here is the fascinating story of the Fens.

Norwich has a rich and fascinating history. An important Anglo-Saxon market town at the time of the Norman invasion, it grew to become one of the leading cities of England by the early Middle Ages and second only to London in the 16th and 17th centuries. It retained its importance until the Industrial Revolution when, although it was overtaken in size by the new manufacturing towns, it maintained its reputation as one of the most radical and progressive of cities. In this book the author skilfully combines the latest historical and archaeological findings with a quarter century of original research into the city archives to provide a lively narrative together with a superb selection of illustrations. From its beginnings he describes the city's growth and government and the many dramatic episodes in its life. He looks at the lives of many of its famous residents but, above all, describes the life of the ordinary people through the centuries- how they earned their livings, their living conditions, with problems of poverty and health, their schooling and how they enjoyed their leisure time. A recurrent theme in the book is the constant flow of people and ideas between Norwich and its neighbours on the continent of Europe. This book will be warmly welcomed by local historians, while its attractive style and presentation will ensure its popularity with the general reader, whether resident or visitor.

Norfolk has many associations with the paranormal, from ancient tales of Shuck the hound that has haunted the county's lanes for a thousand years to tales of ghosts from the Second World War and of unidentified f lying objects. This book takes a new approach by looking at the paranormal as recorded in the archives of the county. The stories include those collected by some of the county's keenest folklorists such as W. H. Cooke, Mark Taylor, and W. G. Clarke, as well as first-hand records of paranormal experience. Many tales are published for the very first time, such as Mottie Green, the Wells 'witch', and a new light is thrown on more familiar stories such as the haunting of Syderstone Parsonage and the Snettisham ghost. Not least, the book also explains the key role of Norwich in the development of the vampire story! Read this book and your view of Norfolk will never be the same again!

Norfolk was truly a 'front-line county' during the Second World War. Its men and women served in all branches of the forces, and, because of its proximity to the Continent, the threat of invasion and the reality of air raids affected everyone. This book uses archive evidence to look at what life was like both for men serving overseas and for those at home. Begining with the experiences of Norfolk men in the Norfolk Regiment in France, Singapore and in the Far East, the book also examines those serving in the Navy, Merchant Navy and the Air Force. The vital role played by women, in the armed forces, the Women's Land Army, and many other jobs, is explored. The book also looks at the daily life of children and adults, the effects of food and clothes rationing, measures taken to prepare the community in case of invasion, and life at school in wartime. Two important themes in wartime Norfolk, still remembered today by many local people, are those of child evacuees and of the United States Army Air force. Norfolk people experienced both sides of the evacuee situation: many children came to the county from the London area, while many children from the Norfolk coast were themselves evacuated to the Midlands. The American presence in the county was a strong one, and has left a rich archive of personal papers and photographs, which are now held at the Norfolk Record Office, along with many diaries and letters of Norfolk people. This book draws on this material and on the reminiscences of those in the county during the war. The book is beautifully illustrated with contemporary photographs, and these enhance the enthralling story being told: of what life was like during the Second World.

Norwich Through Time contains 180 photographs of Norwich, of which 90 are old photographs. Some printed in a sepia tone and some printed in full colour. These photographs are printed alongside a contemporary full colour photograph which illustrates the same scene. The contrasting illustrations show how the area has changed and developed during the last 100 years. The photographs illustrate shops, schools, garages, churches, houses and street scenes, each photograph is captioned and the book has an introduction which gives a brief overview of the history of the town. As you browse through the photographs, you will notice the increase in the number of vehicles on the road, shops that once sold new goods are now estate agents or charity shops. Green fields have been transformed into industrial estates, houses or ring roads.

Dorothy Jewson, born in Norwich in 1884, was a controversial figure: a suffragette, a pacifist, one of the first female Members of Parliament in the UK, and a tireless worker for the disadvantaged, especially women. Dorothy, a member of the well-known Jewson family of Norwich, studied at the Norwich High School for Girls and then Girton College, Cambridge: it was at Girton that she came under the thrall of the two ideas that were to give purpose to her life: Socialism and Feminism. She played an important role in the battle to obtain the vote for women and was one of the first members of the Norwich branch of Emmeline Pankhurst's Women's Social and Political Union: Frank Meeres describes the debacle of Emmeline's visit to Norwich in 1912 and many other aspects of the local suffragette movement; he also looks at Dorothy's campaign to improve the conditions of the poor in her home city. Dorothy's pacifism led her to oppose the First World War, and she went on to become a full-time worker in the women's trade union movement. She became an MP in 1923, the first female MP in East Anglia. Although her time in Parliament lasted only ten months, she continued to be very active in politics, campaigning for women's issues and for peace. Her contribution was always very practical and is shown by her work on behalf of the unemployed during her ten years on Norwich City Council. Frank Meeres develops these themes in the first full telling of the story of a fascinating and remarkable woman.