Please welcome, historian and author, Janet Few.
I first met Janet in Walter Henry's Bookshop in Bideford, when she was dressed as her alter-ego, Mistress Agnes, talking about the whys and wherefores of 16th and 17th century clothing.And fascinating it was too – there are so many clothes-related sayings we use which originate from the period. Straight-laced being one I recall her explaining...
But I digress. You'll have to read Janet's book, Coffers, Clysters, Comfrey and Coifs – one of her many publications – to find out more.
Mistress Agnes is one of the historic characters brought to life through Sword and Spindles . With their interactive living history presentations, they travel all over the country and overseas (check out the news page on their website for their latest adventure) covering subjects such as plague and pestilence, crime and punishment, the history of medicine and witchcraft.
And if writing books and enactment wasn't enough, Janet also offers a variety of historic research services. So I was delighted when she found a few minutes in her busy schedule to answer a few questions.
I started by asking her...
When did you decide to become a genealogist? It wasn’t a conscious
decision. When I was seven I drew up a family tree on the back of large
cardboard adverts for dog food and I was hooked. I started seriously
researching twelve years later and suddenly I found that various aspects of
family, social and community history had taken over my life.
How lovely to start so young! I bet a lot of us wish we'd begun earlier.
What's the most frustrating brick wall you've broken through? It
took me 37 years to find the parents of my 6 x great-grandfather in my direct
paternal line.
A lesson to us all, not to give up!
What gave you the idea for Swords and Spindles? I was working as an
historical interpreter for a tourist attraction, which was closing down. Some
of the staff felt that it was too good an idea to let go, so although we do not
have premises, we still inhabit the C17th and travel around the world bringing
history to life.
It's such a fabulous idea and great fun, I would imagine. Both for spectators and player alike!
Tell us the sorts of things you do as Mistress Agnes. Amongst other
things, I give people make-overs C17th style, concoct herbal cures, avoid
detection by the witchfinder and explain what to look for in a good set of
armour.
Very handy life skills! How to avoid the witchfinder sounds particularly intriguing.
You’ve written several history non-fiction books. Which did you
enjoy writing the most? It is difficult to decide, as I’ve enjoyed them all in
different ways. Helping 80 women recall their memories of 1946-1969 for Remember Then was very rewarding.
And I enjoyed reading it too. It inspired me to begin writing down my own memories and to encourage others to do likewise.
I also
feel that the booklet Harnessing the
Facebook Generation: ideas for
involving young people in family history and heritage has something very important to
say.
I know you are passionate about getting young people involved in history. I think the book's a brilliant idea.
You’ve recently turned to writing fiction. Are you enjoying the change?
Yes. I have become really excited by the way that the story is evolving. It is
not without its problems though. I am not used to writing dialogue, so that is
a challenge. The fact that the plot is based on a true story makes it difficult
for me to leave my historian head behind. I have to convince myself that it
really doesn’t matter if I can’t solve a research problem, I can just make it
up!
Basing it on a true story must make it even more difficult than starting with everything made up! But I do understand what it's like to stumble upon a fascinating real event and want to get it out there.
Tell us a little about the story. It is about a North Devon family who were
exposed to the dangers of disease and of the First World War but for one young woman,
it was her own mother who posed the greatest threat of all. The story
investigates what it was about the mother’s origins in an isolated rural
community that would drive an ordinary fisherman’s wife to take desperate
measures in order to preserve her sanity? The plot is based on a real scandal that lay
hidden for nearly a century. Rooted in its unique and beautiful geographical
setting, it is the unfolding of a past that reverberates unhappily
through the generations and of raw emotions that are surprisingly modern in
character.
There's nothing quite like a good old fashioned historic scandal! I'm really looking forward to reading it when it's published.
Have you any other writing projects planned? I need to say no. I
really need to say no but my interest is sparked by so many things. I am fascinated
by the history of ill health, particularly mental ill-health. Then I should finally
get round to writing up all the biographies I have collected of C19th emigrants
from North Devon. Oh and then there’s the novel that I was going to write
before ‘Daisy’ popped up and said ‘write me’. Has anyone actually worked out
how to get 48 hours into each day?
I think we'd all like to know that particular trick, Janet!
If you'd like to find out more about Janet, her books and the historic presentations of Sword and Spindles, then drop into her website The History Interpreter for all the details.
It just leaves me to say a huge THANK YOU to Janet for taking time to answer my questions and for appearing on this blog post.
