Tom Bates, Derbyshire Author, Writer and Poet

Northern Derbyshire, Snapshots in Time by Tom Bates ...

Northern Derbyshire – Snapshots in Time– Tom Bates

This is writer & historian Tom Bates’ seventh book, a long-awaited and welcome addition to ’Discovering Derbyshire’s White Peak’ (ALD, Sheffield, 2000). Tom regards residence in the heart of the North Derbyshire countryside as an inestimable privelege and writes:

“ Simply being here, part of this living, evolving landscape, provides sufficient inspiration to arouse my passion and desire for the written word”.

Working on themes previously researched and published singularly, this book collects together a series of ’snapshots in time’ previously unpublished in book form, and arranges them in chronological order, from the foundation stones of Derbyshire three hundred and fifty million years ago to the present day.

Along the way there are ’snapshots’ from the Ice Age, the Iron Age and the Roman Era; there are glimpses of the Middle Ages, followed by the Tudor to Georgian eras; ’snapshots’ from the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution, and through the Victorian age to the modern day and even a humorous glance into the future!
However, the main feature of the book, and at which the author excels, is the well researched section on the ’potted histories’ of many of the most popular North Derbyshire villages.

Drawing an imaginary line to divide the county in half, and thus including ’snapshots’ of the towns and villages north of the dividing line which runs through the village of Cromford, Tom explores the unique history, architecture and surrounding environment of each village, many of them with Saxon origins. Tom writes:

“ It was never my intention to attempt to write a potted history of Derbyshire, and this book makes no such claim. I have no desire to educate, merely to entertain, and I hope the reader will find this little book informative, interesting and entertaining”.

Interesting and entertaining it most certainly is, and makes a welcome addition to the literary canon of this Derbyshire born author.

Published by New Age Poetry Press of Chesterfield, the 224 pages are packed with information written in the author’s distinctive popular style, and the book is available NOW, priced £9.99 (incl. P&P) from tombates@sky.com or you can buy securely online using PayPal below ...

Review by Beverley Eley, Editor & Literary Agent, NSW. Australia

Click here to contact Tom for more details or to buy his books.