Genealogy

As an offshoot of yesterday's post I was reminded of a book by Alison Weir - Britain's Royal Families. It's more of a reference book than a read straight through book as it traces the descendants of all the kings and queens of England, Scotland and Wales. Unfortunately there aren't giant pull out family trees it is just text but it is absolutely fascinating.

I fished it off the shelf one evening to look up what happened to Edward IV's daughters and found I was still reading it two hours later. A book to get lost in - especially among Queen Victoria's descendants.

I've always been interested in family trees and still have from years ago a huge fold out chart of the the main people in the royal family back to 1066 - though it does not contain as much detail as Alison Weir's book. I wasn't interested in these family trees because these people were famous but because they were the only family trees available and it was just the mechanics of the whole thing which interested me.

I can remember back in the 1970s when I was a librarian I used to delight in reading a book I think published by Burke's Peerage that did contain fold out family trees of the aristocracy. I loved that book but I think it cost about £50 and there was no way I could afford my own copy.