KENT'S UNTOLD HISTORY - AUTHOR MICHAEL FAIRLEY LISTS HIS BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS
4 DECEMBER 2024
After retiring from the label industry some four years ago, Freeman Michael Fairley now spends his time as an author and historian, researching and writing about what life in Kent was really like at different periods during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Over this time he has created a series of books on Kent’s Untold History. The first six titles in this series have now been published. The aim of the books is to provide answers to the many questions about historic Kent life. Questions such as:
How did people travel around the county two or three hundred years ago? Could prisoners really be convicted and transported to Australia just for stealing three fowls? When were the first railway lines opened in Kent? What kind of music hall performances would theatregoers expect to see in the 1800s? Was there actually a horse that could do arithmetic and play whist? When did steamships and paddle steamers first start crossing the English Channel? When, and where, was the last person hanged in Kent? Did women ever play football 200 or more years ago?
How long did it take for a stagecoach to travel from Canterbury to London? Were there actually highwaymen and robbers on Kent's main roads? Was the game of cricket played in the 1700s? When did sea bathing first become popular in Kent? What was the Great Horse Manure Challenge? Could bare knuckle boxing matches actually last several hours? Were woman and girls actually burnt at the stake in the county? Did 18th century medicines really claim to 'cure all known ills in the world'? Did horse-drawn bus services really operate in Kent? Was cockfighting a major public sporting activity in Kent?
The answer to all of these intriguing questions can be found in the pages of one or more of the titles already published. The books provide a fascinating insight into life, travel, theatre, crime and punishment, sports and pastimes, medicines, pills and potions, with the latest title, 'Smuggling, contraband and the Revenue men' now also published.