Books and Authors

Author	Book Title & Date	Review (These reviews are the personal opinions of the individuals whose initials appear at the end of each review; they are not necessarily the opinions of the makers of the Essex History website)
Dee Gordon	Little Book of Essex	Super little book containing all the trivia you ever wanted to know about Essex. Brilliant!
Yearsley, Ian	Essex Events, 1999	Essex Events is a fascinating book to dip in to, whatever part of Essex you are from. Ian always manages to come up with brilliant illustrations and his research is meticulous. Excellent.  JW
Hill, Tony	Guns and Gunners at Shoeburyness, 1999	If you want to know anything about Shoeburyness Garrison, what went on there for 150 years, its staff, buildings, events and incidents, then it is all here. This really is a superb book; well worth having a look at. Now out of print, it is difficult to get hold of a copy to buy but they are still available at local libraries. Recommended. JW
Gordon, Dee	Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in and around Southend-on-Sea, 2007	NEW from Dee Gordon - Little Book of Essex, Infamous Essex Women and Essex's Own. Foul Deeds is a fascinating book, covering a wide range of strange incidents that have happened in the Southend area. Murder, consipiracy, execution, witchcraft and crimes of passion are here - perhaps not one to read after dark!  JW
Williams, Judith	Leigh-on-Sea, A History, 2002   Wickford, A History, 2006   Shoeburyness, A History, 2006	Over the years there have been a number of books relating the history of Shoeburyness, albeit some covering only certain aspects.  However, few if any have been so thoroughly researched as Judith Williams' "Shoeburyness. A History" with its depth in terms of time; and breadth of subject matter.  Over one hundred and fifty excellent photographs strongly support the text to great effect.  This book is eminently readable and an invaluable contribution to local history.  TH   'Delightful local history books. Well researched and informative, with a wide selection of illustrations.  JW
Hallman, Robert	Essex History You Can See     Canvey Island	Robert's books are very informative but it is his use of his own photographs, taken over many years, that really make his books special - lovely pictures. JW
Sipple, Mavis	Rochford, A History, 2004	This is an excellent history of one of the most important market towns in Essex. Mavis' style is easy to read, and she answers all the questions you might ask. JW
Payne, Jessie	Basildon, A Pictorial History, 1981	Despite being written over 20 years ago, Jessie Payne's books continue to provide a valuable resource to local historians. She always manages to include details about families and buildings that cannot be found elsewhere. Highly recommended. JW
Henderson, Geoffrey	All Love, A biography of Ridley Herschell, 2006	This is not a conventional Essex history book but it gives a fascinating background to the 'life and times' of some of the people. Particularly of interest to people from Leigh-on-Sea. JW
Jarvis, Stan	Smuggling in East Anglia 1700-1840, 1987	Stan Jarvis has been a prolific writer of history books, concentrating on Essex. Always interesting to read, both for study and general interest. As with Jessie Payne, you can trust the validity of the information in Stan's books. JW

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