Lydia by Pip Wright

Lydia is a true story... well, very nearly! Set in the Hartismere district of Suffolk in the period 1785 - 1826, every person and place in this book really existed. Most of the events, however trivial can be verified by reference to parish and other records. No names have been changed, except for the occasional Christian name where too many people shared the same name.

For all that, this is not simply a history; it is a historical novel that seeks to explore the lives of the poor two hundred years ago. Its focus is a young girl from Cotton in Suffolk by the name of Lydia Saunders and her family. We first learn about her parents, Anne & Robert, but this is really the story of Lydia and her six sisters. You will read about crime and punishment, love and its abuse, and the good times and bad times enjoyed and endured by the labourers of Suffolk in Georgian England.

Since the book’s publication, I have had contact with a number of people who are descended from characters in this story and have been delighted to read about how their ancestors might have lived.

Approx 250 pages. Price £7.95 (for post & packing, add £2)

‘Lydia’, the story
of a Suffolk girl
by Pip Wright
Pawprint Publishing ISBN 0 9548298 2 4