An aristocratic tale of epic proportions, this gripping novel cleverly interweaves interviews, letters and historical fact . . . Fascinating' Easy Living This book was a little different for me than The Secret Rooms. With The Secret Rooms we jumped right into the story and the family history/scandal etc.

Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey | Waterstones

To make matters worse Bailey seems to have had more than a little trouble determining the exact scope of her work. The description led me to believe this was a family history, but within the text, the personal lives and accomplishments of the Fitzwilliams frequently fell to the way side as Bailey examined the coal mining industry, class conflict and the political upheaval that characterized England in the early and mid 1900s. Though I found the information intensely interesting, I often found myself wondering how the work of a pit pony and his adolescent driver or the breakdown of a coal miner's household budget impacted the inhabitants of Wentworth. Klarna has been a “Trusted Shops Authorized Partner” since 2011 and as an “authorized partner”, Klarna's processes are perfectly adapted to the Trusted Shops quality criteria. The Trusted Shops quality criteria are based on national and European laws that are important for online shopping. They take into account the current judgments and requirements of consumer protection organizations or go even further. Read more about the Trusted Shops seal of approval here. To me the problem is that towards the beginning there’s a perfect balance of family “gossip” and contextual history but the more you do into the book the “gossip” element gets less and the history part increases. Now obviously I’d expect and indeed enjoy some history/setting for all this but for me it just tips too far that way. There are a lot of ‘just’ history books about this period I could buy after all. I do know the author struggled from a lot of the documentation being destroyed but I would have rather had a shorter book than what feels at times like padding. A compelling new history . . . fascinating insights into the dynasty that once ruled this Yorkshire roost' Daily Mail

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book and while I approached it thinking it would have the Downton Abbey vibe to it and be light and gossipy, I knew Catherine Bailey would bring her own twist to the story and enlighten and educate the reader along the way. The is a book where classes collide after years of miners and workers being oppressed. While the author informs us that vast amounts of Fitzwilliam papers and historical documents were destroyed she manages to weave together a very convincing and well thought out account from memories of living relatives to employees of the family and papers that survived through the years. In this scenario Zakes Mda weaves a plot of shifting loyalties and the conflicting values that characterise the "new" South Africa, though it was already ten years old in the time the story is set, and is another fifteen years older now. I can't remember why I got this book from the library - I think another goodreader mentioned it in a review and it sounded interesting. And it was. I have a bit of a fascination with mining, coal in particular - try reading "Rose" by Martin Cruz Smith - excellent book - and the peculiarities of the English aristocracy. The sections on William, Lord Milton, heir to the 6th Earl and his son, Billy, who became the 7th Earl were the best in the book, IMHO.

Black Diamonds - Penguin Books UK

Pre WW1 the British aristocracy would do whatever was necessary to protect themselves. Post WW1 they all came home to a very different Britain and so begins a slow and painful demise of one the most powerful families in Britain. Add to that the incredible links and direct connections to an incredibly rich, young, up and coming American Dynasty called The Kennedy's and you have an absolute must read book! Our goal is to make shopping easier and safer - smooth. That is why we take drastic measures to protect you as a buyer against fraud and unreliable online retailers. Whenever you see the Klarna logo in an online store, you can be sure that the store is trustworthy and meets our strict requirements. I have intended to read this for a long time but - I was always going to have a mixed relationship with this book because I grew up in Wentworth and am very familiar with the history. It loses two whole stars in the progression of its parts. The transitions being the least of it. We have a long beginning regarding the 6th and 7th Earls Fitzwilliam, without a whiff of the history of that particular title, with only the single exception for the origins of the building of its seat, Wentworth House. Which is still, the largest "single" residence in Great Britain.

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The Wentworth Estate is located between Rotherham and Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England, northeast of Sheffield. In 1902, when the historical narrative commences, it was the largest privately owned house in all of England. The fall of the Fitzwilliams’ dynasty spanned a mere fifty years. We start with the sixth earl and conclude with the tenth. That which we are promised in the book description is delivered. The nationalization and demise of the British coal industry is a central theme too. The book moves forward chronologically beginning with the funeral of the sixth earl in February 1902. The book gives a vivid picture of the yawning gap between the wealthy aristocracy and the workers who supported their lifestyle. Although the FItzwilliams were beneficent mine owners (unlike some of the purely corporate mining interests) the gap between the family and the miners was vast, and beginning in the 1920's with the rise of the Labour party, no amount of kindly charity from the big house was going to satisfy the workers' demands for a better life. Although the family survived the General Strike in 1926, the Depression and then World War II spelled the end of their financial empire.

Black Diamonds: What You Need to Know - GIA 4Cs Black Diamonds: What You Need to Know - GIA 4Cs

Mda then returned to Lesotho, first working with the Lesotho National Broadcasting Corporation Television Project and then as a lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Lesotho. Between 1985 and 1992 he was director of the Theatre-For-Development Project at the university and founded the Marotholi Travelling Theatre. Together with his students he travelled to villages in remote mountain regions working with local people in creating theatre around their everyday concerns. This work of writing theatre "from the inside" was the theme of his doctoral thesis, the Ph.D degree being conferred on him by the University of Cape Town in 1989. For the record Bailey does not cover the rise of the Fitzwilliams. She takes great liberties assuming the reader is already familiar with the family and entirely omits the early chapters of their history without so much as a footnote of explanation. The title was created in 1716, but Bailey's chronicle doesn't begin until 1902 with the death of the 6th Earl Fitzwilliam leaving much of the family, not to mention the origins of their wealth and influence, shrouded in mystery. A social history of coal mining, told through the eyes of one family, the owners of Wentworth, reputedly the biggest country seat in Britain. I absolutely loved this. It had all my favourite ingredients for a good history: social context; gossip and scandal; dynastic shenanigans; and what's more, it managed a very rare thing, it swayed me at one point from my own natural socialistic inclinations onto the side of the aristocracy!The family charting in front was absolutely necessary. So many people, so much dysfunction. And for all their wealth, miniscule understanding of health or cure for nearly anything that ailed them. The numbers of populations that they employed! Collapse eventually, and not just for the Fitzwilliam family or Wentworth heirs. I loved reading about the rich and famous of the British aristocracy, anything with the worlds elite is always interesting since it’s out of the realm of everyday life.