Overview

The Gold Helix: The Bolebec Legacy is a captivating exploration of the lives and works of eight towering figures in British literature, whose collective legacy spans 260 years, from 1564 to 1824. This book delves into the remarkable stories of Jane Austen, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, Henry Fielding, James Boswell, Jonathan Swift, John Dryden, and William Shakespeare. Each of these luminaries made significant contributions to the literary world, while also leading fascinating lives during pivotal moments in history. What binds these eight literary giants in this narrative is their shared ancestry. Amazingly, they all descend from Osbern de Bolebec II, an otherwise obscure feudal lord in eleventh-century Normandy. Osbern de Bolebec II was a kinsman of the dukes of Normandy, including the illustrious William the Conqueror. His descendants, through a lineage spanning centuries, include eight of the most celebrated authors in the English literary canon.

Full Product Details

9781834187921

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Richard Mills was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, in 1939, a few months before the outbreak of the Second World War. He attended Wellingborough Grammar School during the 1950s and undertook National Service, joining the Royal Air Force. In 1958, after two years of National Service, he embarked on a teacher training course at Culham College, Oxfordshire. As a newly qualified teacher he joined a recently opened secondary school in Northamptonshire, where he taught English and geography, and studied part-time at Leicester University. Eventually. He moved to Harrold in Bedfordshire with his wife and children, taught for another twenty-six years in two local schools, but managed to find time to complete an MA in Education at Southampton University in 1976. His final years in education were largely concerned with administration and advisory work. An early retirement saw him become involved in travelling, genealogical research, and writing this, his first book.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available