Margaret Williams, strangled. Mary Morgan, hanged. Thomas Heslop, shot. John Thomas, battered to death. Adeline Coquelin, drowned. Sarah Jacob, starved. Jane Lewis, slashed to death...

These are some of The Stories in Welsh Stone that feature in my new book. The book was published in November 2008 and examines 15 nineteenth century graves in Wales.

"Stories in Welsh Stone - The Secrets within 15 Welsh Graves" by Geoff Brookes

On the site you will find a brief introduction to the book and an outline of the content. There is a direct link to the Welsh Country Magazine who have an e-commerce facility where you can purchase the book with confidence and security. You can also buy the book directly from myself using Paypal on the "How to Buy" page on the website.

Geoff Brookes,

Swansea

New Feature

Read complete stories in the section called Shorter Tales. These are the stories that you will find there:

James Williams SS Polaria MV Maja Robert Everett Hedd Wyn Ernest Willows Muhammad Sakhi

You will also find a page dedicated to stories from the log books of Cwm School in Swansea. These books provide a fascinating insight into school and the wider world from 1870 right up until 2010. Click here to go straight to the Cwm School Records page.

Additional Material

Click here to read about body snatchers in the early part of the nineteenth century. They were called The Resurrectionists. They took bodies from graves. All I take are stories.

You can also read the complete text of a fine short story by the great American writer, Ambrose Bierce, which is about body snatchers. It is called One Summer Night.

Geoff Brookes

Site Updates

My latest blog posted on 04 September 2011-

Ann of Bridgewater

Click here to go straight to my blog page.

The most recent story added in the Shorter Tales Section is about Muhammad Sakhi who is buried in Crickhowell, near Abergavenny.

Free Download!

Click here to go to a page where you can get a download of one of the chapters from the book, absolutely free! Read the story of the murder of a poor old lady, Mary Kavanagh, beaten to death in 1829 for watches.

Events

1. St Theodore's Church, Port Talbot
Positive Thinking
Illustrated Talk and book signing
15 November 2011 7.30 pm

2. Bodysgallen Hall
Illustrated Talk and Book signing
3 December 2011

Buy the Book

Buy on-line and save £2 on the cover price.

Only £16.99 (inc postage and packing for uk addresses)

Free Delivery in Swansea and surrounding area. only £12.50 - see How to Buy

Reviews

Janet Thomas, in her review on the Gwales website for the Welsh Books Council, writes,

"This book hits on the clever, evocative idea of retelling fifteen of Wales’s most infamous murders o r mysterious deaths by focussing on the gravestones. The graves and landscapes around them are depicted in beautiful photographs and each story is accompanied by directions to find the grave."

The Western Mail described it as " a colourful and handsome book about passion, drama, injustice and tragedy."