Fire In The Veins - Norfolk Rebels. The new book by Joanna Lehmann-Hackett reviewed by Alan Hewitt.

I thought it would be ideal to have this review of the book to accompany the brief chat we have with Joanna about it later in this edition.

Norfolk is not the kind of place that you readily associate with rebellion or indeed any kind of dissent. Its peaceful exterior hides a far darker interior however as we find out in this fascinating book.

Written in a style which even people who have far less of an interest in history than I do will find easy to read, here we have a broad over view of the history of the various people and organisations in the county who, over the centuries and indeed millennia have stood up against injustice, persecution in whatever shape it has taken.

So, apart from the most famous (well… certainly best known) Norfolk rebel, Boudica queen of the Iceni who gave the Roman Empire a severely bloody nose, we have such unlikely “rebels” as TV actor Martin Shaw to the likes of First World War nursing heroine, Edith Cavell who was executed by the Germans for assisting refugees to flee from Belgium. Pirates, Pilgrim Fathers and Body Snatchers are all here in glorious (!) detail with a wealth of informative text and plenty of illustrative material to boot. I am ashamed to admit that as far as I know I have only ever visited Norfolk once, but as someone whose family has non-conformist roots, after reading this delightful work, I think that omission will be corrected in the not too distant future! A thoroughly enjoyable book which will appeal to a very broad church of readers indeed - excellent stuff!

Fire In The Veins - Norfolk Rebels. Joanna Lehmann-Hackett. Wymer Publishing ISBN: 978-1-908724-02-1.