Baron John Maltravers 1290-1364

Baron John Maltravers 1290-1364 "A Wise Knight in War and Peace" Medieval historian Caroleen McClure has completed a long and exceptionally detailed research project into the medieval Maltravers family.

She starts with the first Baron John Maltravers who, she reveals, led an extraordinary life. He was awarded his knighthood at an exceptionally early age, 16.

Several years later he was capture and made a prisoners at Bannockburn.

He was a close associate of Roger Mortimer and served as a jailer of King Edward II after he had been deposed.

However, Mortimer's time in a position of control and power was soon over and his associates were put on trial. As was Maltravers, who, after his trial, was put to death for treason.

But it was too late as he had already fled the country and served out a voluntary exile for the next two decades. However, as McClure points out, he was not pursued and no attempt was made to arrest him during his exile.

When he arrived back from period of exile it was to grim news. His sole son had died, a victim of the Black Death and his heirs were his two granddaughters.

Eleanor, his surviving granddaughter made a good marriage, marrying into the Arundel family. Her descendants were ennobled as the Earls of Arundel so they were not only the Earls of Arundel but also Barons Maltravers. These titles are carried by their descendant the current Duke of Norfolk.

As well as being based on meticulous research, it is profusely illustrated with photographs, family trees, coats of arms, maps and the like. It is also very well written in a clear and concise style. Although written with due academic rigour, it is very accessible to the lay reader.

The author has been able to access hitherto unpublished resources and the author has cited all works with a exceptional index so it will make an excellent resource for students of medieval history. 

It is published by Matador at £15.00 in hardback.

Please help the vulnerable and the elderly

Good evening, everyone.

This is not a normal post for That's Books and Entertainment. But then, these are not normal times, are they?

I would like to ask you to please think about anyone you know who is vulnerable, elderly or disabled.

Please check on them on a regular basis to make sure that during the Coronavirus crisis they have enough food and drink to sustain them.

Do they need medication collecting from their pharmacy? Do they need help in sending a prescription to their Doctor's?

Do they need help in making certain their mobile phone is topped up with credits or with power?

Do they just need someone to chat, even if it is just on the phone?

We can beat the Coronavirus, but only if we all work together, especially if we help to look after the vulnerable, the elderly and the disabled.

Please help by forwarding this post on to as many people as you know. Thank you for your help.

UPDATE: Here are some helpful links:-
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/15/success/small-businesses-coronavirus/index.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-51880695
Coronavirus: Postcard bid to help self-isolating neighbours

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-people-with-confirmed-or-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus-resource-center

https://www.redcross.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/uk-emergency-response/coronavirus
How the British Red Cross is helping with coronavirus

https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/coronavirus
Here you’ll find all our information about coronavirus and useful links for the latest updates.

https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/what-is-coronavirus-facts
What is coronavirus? Facts, FAQs, and how to help

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/15/how-are-you-helping-others-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak
How are you helping others during the coronavirus outbreak?


Image courtesy Zoran Stupar from Pixabay

Learn to play, for free, with Yamaha Music London

NATIONAL LEARN TO PLAY DAY at Yamaha Music London is suitable for adults and children aged 3+ with no previous musical experience being required or even necessary.

There will be a wide choice of instruments to try, including top Yamaha acoustic, bass and electric guitars, pianos, violin and drums, too.

Whether you have never played or whether you used to play, there will be professional music teachers on hand to encourage and inspire you.

The taster sessions can only be booked in-store on the day, on a first come first served basis. So please arrive early to avoid disappointment.

All the music fun is totally free and also includes:

Balloon Bonanza – Saturday 28 March
Guinness World Record Breaking Balloon Artist David Crofts keeping everyone entertained with his musical themed creations.

Sonic Creation Sessions – Sunday 29 March
Synthesizer guru Dom Sigalas will be back to host his SONIC CREATION group sessions - a must if you are in a band or even remotely interested in any type of music production. Aimed at older children and adults.

International Piano Day will be celebrated throughout the weekend with surprise pop-up performances from international artists.

Don’t Miss Out!
For up-to-date information on the Learn to Play lineup and activities please visit yamahamusiclondon.com. Please check the website before you travel.

Store Address
Yamaha Music London
152-160 Wardour Street
London W1F 8YA
Store telephone number 0207 432 4400
Nearest underground stations: Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road.

Taking That's Books and Entertainment to the next level with Patreon

I have decided to take my book review and entertainment blog, That's Books and Entertainment to the next level.

But what to do? How to move the blog forward, yet still continuing to provide book reviews and the odd piece of entertainment industry news that has caught my attention that I believe readers of my blog might also be interested in?

After several weeks of thought I decided to launch a Patreon account.

At least initially this will involve a special regular newsletter that will be sent out to my Patreons. In fact, the first edition of this special newsletter is already written and is ready to be sent out.

So please join me on Patreon as I work out how to provide my readers with an even better experience. It will be a learning experience for all of us.

I have several other blogs that I intend to add Patreon to at some time in the near future.

(Image courtesy of Werner Weisser from Pixabay)

All The People

All The People is a historical novel from Jeff Kaye set 200 years ago.

Everyone knows something of the dreadful incident that became known as the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester in 1819, when the Yeomanry launched a murderous attack on protesters.

In his novel Jeff Kaye examines what happened afterwards.

It's set 13 years after Peterloo, and Hugh Hornby Birley, the mill owner who led the Yeomanry on that dreadful day, still casts a malign shadow over Manchester.

Mary Burns, a nine-year-old girl is one of the workers in his factory. Her family relies on Mary's wages to survive.

The novel shows how she grew into  an ardent Chartist, working hard to better the conditions of the herself, her family and the people of her town.

The novel also introduces James Hull. James has been sent to Manchester as a religious missionary, but when he sees at first hand the desperate and miserable conditions of the inhabitants he decides to work to save their physical lives, leaving their spiritual salvation to others.

He has problems of his own as Elizabeth, his wife, is distraught over the death of their daughter.

Together James and Mary face down Birley, during the Chartist strikes in the year of 1842, which reactivate the memories of the dreadful event of Peterloo.

But was Birley really such a monster? Kaye takes a look at Birley that is quite  nuanced and well realised.

It's an important novel that reflects upon a very unfortunate piece of the history of Britain during the 19th century.

It is published by Matador at £8.99 in paperback and £16.99 in hardback.

Plague A Very Short Introduction

Plague A Very Short Introduction is a book by Paul Slack.

It is a part of the Oxford University Press A Very Short Introduction series of academic books.

It is a very important work on the plague. It identifies the plague, it discusses the Greek and Latin meaning of the word, how the plague spread, how the plague was treated by the medical practitioners of the day, the symptoms of the plague and how the dead were dealt with. On page 3, for example, there is a photograph of a London burial pit, which  was identified as probably having been used during the plague of 1665-6.

The book focused on the disease's history, major epidemics, times throughout history when it was sweeping through communities and also right down to more recent times, the early decades of the 20th century.

The book points out that due to advances in medical science and in public health measures the plague has become less of a severe threat to humanity.

It points out that the disease still exists and that there are episodic flare ups in various parts of the world and that it persists in animals.

Worryingly it points out that human cases have been rising since the 1990s, the WHO, Slack states, reports 1,000 to 5,000 cases every year.

Although it is a very short introduction Slack covers all the main points on the plague, who first identified it, when it was first isolated, the vector of the disease and so forth.

It costs £7.99 and is a must read for all medical students,health practitioners and students of the history of medicine and of history in general.

Tannadee

Tannadee is a humorous novel from author Maurice Gray.

The lifestyle in the Scottish Highland village of Tannadee is pretty good. Until the village meets with Gordon Weever who is a billionaire. Unfortunately Weever is also a total bully who has plans to construct an exclusive golf resort very close to the village.

The villagers are not sure what to do to put a halt to his plans. Because not only is he able to throw money around to get his own way, he is also starting to employ some pretty nasty dirty tricks. So, what can they do to deal with this interloper? Nothing? Just let him get away with it?

However, local schoolteacher Chizzie Bryson is not so sure and he decides to get the villagers to participate in some Highland Games to raise some much needed funds for a fight back.

When the weekend dawns, the villagers turn out to participate in the Highland Games.

But what if things didn't go quite to plan? And whose plan would be thwarted?

Would Weever win? Or could the locals play him at his own Highland Games?

It's an amusing novel published by Matador at £8.99.