Our latest translation, the Portuguese version of Operation Watchmaker, Eve’s War Heroines of SOE book eight.
Clara Bow’s ninth movie was Daughters of Pleasure, a 1924 silent romantic comedy. The film had a unique release date – February 29, 1924. Clara played Lila Millais, one of the support characters.
Clara was still finding her feet in Hollywood at this time and was dependent, probably over-dependent, on producer B.P. Schulberg for guidance. Schulberg undoubtedly helped Clara with her career but, it could be argued, was less supportive of her personal development. Indeed, Clara felt that Schulberg was betraying her trust.
Arthur Jacobson had an affair with Clara Bow. After that affair, they remained friends. Around the time of Daughters of Pleasure, he offered this insight into her character: “Clara was the sweetest kid in the world, but you didn’t cross her, and you didn’t do her wrong.”
📸 Clara in 1924.
Highest Grossing Movie of 1929 (joint) Sunny Side Up.
Sunny Side Up continued the late 1920s tradition of a musical producing the highest grossing movie of the year. Sunny Side Up starred Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell with songs by B.G. DeSylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson. A romantic-comedy, the movie premiered on October 3, 1929 at the Gaiety Theatre in New York. For early movies, it had a long running time –121 minutes.
Sunny Side Up produced three popular songs – ‘I’m a Dreamer, Aren’t We All?’, ‘Turn on the Heat’ and ‘(Keep Your) Sunny Side Up’.
Critics offered faint praise. They reckoned that the singing voices of Gaynor and Farrell, were “tolerable, but not exactly worthy of praise.” They disliked the movie’s sugary sentimentality, but were impressed with the cinematography and special effects.
My latest article for the Seaside News appears on page 34 of the magazine.
Clara Bow Quotes: “My advice to a girl trying to make good in Hollywood…In the first place, don’t under any circumstances ever come to Hollywood for motion picture work unless you have a contract, or definite assurance that you will be used in the making of screen plays.
Secondly, don’t try pictures if you are unduly sensitive. The work is hard and in the thick of battle many things may be said on the spur of the moment which are not to be taken at face value. It is part of the game, but it will cause heartache unless one’s sensitiveness can be overcome.”
Intertitle #10
As ever, thank you for your interest and support.
Hannah xxx
For Authors
#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 34 occasions.
My latest translation, the Portuguese version of Operation Rose, Eve’s War Heroines of SOE, book seven.
The Big Ripoff, Series 1, Episode 7 of The Rockford Files is a strong episode with some noir touches. In the early episodes of the series there is a sense that Rockford is a ‘loser’ in that he’s always the one being ripped-off. That pattern changed as the series progressed and in this episode, financially at least, Rockford emerges as a winner.
Some neat dialogue, which sums up Rockford’s character. Marilyn, a model, “Is there anything you won’t do for money?”
Rockford, “I won’t kill for it, and I won’t marry for it. Other than that, I’m open to just about anything.”
📸 Jill Clayburgh who guest-starred as Marilyn.
Welsh Football Legends
David Lloyd Bowen was born in Maesteg on 7 June 1928. His professional career as a club footballer centred on two clubs – Northampton Town and Arsenal.
After only 12 games for Northampton Town, David caught the eye of the Arsenal scouts. In the summer of 1950 he signed for Arsenal and understudied Joe Mercer at wing-half.
Picture: Arsenal.com
David’s Arsenal debut arrived on 24 March 1951 versus Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 1952-53 Arsenal won the First Division title. However, David only made two appearances. Indeed, he only secured a regular place in the first team when Joe Mercer retired in 1954.
From the 1954-55 season, David played for Arsenal for the next decade. However, success for Arsenal proved elusive during that decade. He did play for a London XI in the final of the Inter Cities Fairs Cup, a two-legged affair that ended in a resounding 8 – 2 victory for FC Barcelona.
A natural leader, David captained Arsenal in his final two seasons at the club. In total he played 162 matches for Arsenal.
In 1959, David returned to Northampton Town as player-manager. His spell at the club lasted for eight years. Operating on a tight budget, he built a strong team and guided that team from the Fourth Division to the First Division in five seasons.
After their meteoric rise, David and Northampton Town experienced mixed fortunes. Relegation, in 1967, led to a parting of the ways only for David to enjoy a second managerial spell at the club, between 1969 and 1972. In 1970 he had the dubious honour of managing Northampton Town when they lost 8 – 2 to Manchester United in the FA Cup. The legendary George Best scored six goals on that occasion.
On the international stage, David made his Wales debut in September 1954, in a friendly against Yugoslavia. In total, he won 19 caps for Wales and was team captain during the 1958 World Cup finals. Along with goalkeeper Jack Kelsey, David was the first Arsenal player to feature in a World Cup finals.
In the 1958 tournament, Wales drew 1 – 1 against Hungary, 1 – 1 against Mexico, and 0 – 0 against hosts Sweden. They won a play-off against Hungary, 2 – 1, and secured a quarter-final match against Brazil. In that game, 17-year-old Pele scored the winner. Pele scored a further five goals in the tournament: a hat-trick in a 5–2 semi-final win over France and a brace in Brazil’s first World Cup tournament victory, 5–2 over Sweden.
David also enjoyed a ten year stint as Wales manager, between 1964 and 1974. During that period, he was active at Northampton Town as general manager, secretary and club director. He also found time to write about the game and serve as a summariser for ITV alongside commentator Hugh Johns during their coverage of the 1966 World Cup final.
David died on 25 September 1995 in Northampton. Later, the club named the North Stand at their Sixfields Stadium in his honour.
As ever, thank you for your interest and support.
Hannah xxx
For Authors
#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 32 occasions.
My latest translation, the Portuguese version of Operation Cameo, Eve’s War Heroines of SOE, book six.
The Howes in America
Jane Jenkins was born on 24 August 1806 in Marcoss, Glamorgan. A seamstress, she married William Howe, brother of my 4 x great grandfather John Howe, on 7 May 1833 in St Brides, Glamorgan. The couple produced five children. William, a shopkeeper, died on 1 August 1848, and Jane’s life took a dramatic turn.
On 15 December 1851 Jane married William Williams. In February 1866 Jane’s mother, Ann David, died and this appears to have been the catalyst for the dramatic change because, aged sixty, Jane set off for a new life in America.
On 6 July 1866 on the ship Arkwright, Jane set sail for New York. She travelled with her husband, William Williams, William’s grandson, William (Billo) Johns, Eliza Davis, Mary Gibbs, Hugh Morris, John Tardy, William Lewis and his wife Rachel.
From New York, the company travelled in cattle cars to Canada and by boat to Niagara Falls, Chicago, then on to Wyoming and Utah. They departed New York on 25 July 1866 on ‘Daniel Thompson’s Church Train’ and followed the pioneer trail before arriving at Salt Lake City on 27 October 1866.
Jane’s husband, William Williams, died on the journey, on the plains near Old Fort Kearney. A widow for the second time, she married David Evan Davies on 22 June 1867 in Salt Lake City. Jane lived a further twenty-two years in Utah before her death on 22 December 1889.
My ancestor Cecilia Howe was born on 13 September 1840 in Wick, Glamorgan. Cecilia was a very popular Howe name that featured over many generations. She married Lewis Griffiths on 14 November 1863 in Bridgend, Glamorgan and on 6 April 1867 she gave birth to twins, Lewis and William. Sadly, Lewis died a day later and William died a day after that.
Cecilia’s husband, Lewis, died on 16 August 1867 when she was two months pregnant. She gave birth to the exotically named Lorenzo Louis Griffiths on 19 March 1868. Thankfully, he survived. A widow with a baby, Cecilia didn’t allow the grass to grow under her feet. She decided to join her mother, Jane Jenkins, in America, arriving in New York on 28 July 1868 before travelling to Salt Lake City.
Cecilia married John Davis Reese on 20 December 1869 in Salt Lake City and in eleven years the couple produced six children. A Welshman from Merthyr Tydfil, John was twenty-five years older than Cecilia.
John Davis Reese
John Davis Reese was a blacksmith and a Mormon. His first wife Mary Morgan had a stillborn child when changing steamers from the Constitution to the Highland Mary. He also married Jane Morgan in 1852, Zillah Mathias in 1857 and Cecilia Howe in 1869. Between his four wives he fathered twenty-seven children.
John returned to Wales as a missionary in 1868. He died on 19 March 1880 in Malad City, Oneida County, Idaho making Cecilia a widow again.
Cecilia didn’t remarry. She died on 7 August 1932 in Benson, Utah aged ninety-one.
Idaho 1918, Cecilia Howe with her son, grandson and great grandson.
My ancestor Anne Howe, sister of Cecilia, was born on 6 February 1843 in Wick, Glamorgan and baptised in Wick on 5 March 1843. Her father, William, died when she was five. At sixteen, she worked as a servant for a solicitor, Thomas Stockwood. Many solicitors moved to Glamorgan in the 1840s to deal with coal mining and railway contracts.
1864, probably taken to commemorate Anne’s twenty-first birthday.
In the 1860s Anne Howe found herself in London. What was she doing there? I believe she was working as a governess for George Crane, a schoolteacher, painter and glazer. George was a widower with four children.
Anne married George Crane on 1 February 1868 in Chelsea, London. Exactly nine months later she gave birth to her first daughter, Mary Ella, in Salt Lake City. Anne was five months pregnant when she set sail with George and his children on 30 June 1868. The family sailed from Liverpool on the SS Minnesota and arrived in New York on 13 July 1868.
George, at a young age, was left alone in England when his parents emigrated to Galt, Canada. They decided that their son should remain in England and complete his apprenticeship as a painter and glazer.
In 1854 George married Emily. The couple lived in London where George worked. Emily died when her youngest child was six weeks old. Grandparents looked after George’s children until he established his relationship with Anne Howe.
In 1868 upon their arrival in America, Anne Howe, her husband George Crane and his children were given berths in cattle cars for their trip west. Each family was allotted beds and a space to prepare their meals. They travelled with the John R. Murdock Company and completed their 430 mile journey from Laramie, Wyoming to Salt Lake City in covered wagons and on mules and foot. Anne was seven months pregnant at the time.
Anne Howe and George Crane
On 28 October 1868 Anne gave birth to a daughter, Mary Ella, the first of six children. Sadly, only Mary Ella and her sister, Maud Estella, survived into adulthood.
The family stayed in Salt Lake City that winter. George worked on the Utah Central Railroad and the Union Pacific until Leland Stanford drove the Golden Spike on 10 May 1869. Then George moved his family to Kanosh, Utah, where he resumed his career as a schoolteacher.
George was a member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. In 1879 he was called on a mission to England. He returned home to Anne in November 1880.
George held many offices in Millard County including county commissioner, and president and director of the Kanosh Store. Active in the church, he also acted in plays and organised a dramatic society in Kanosh.
Chief Kanosh
As pioneers, one wonders what Anne and George’s relationship was like with the indigenous population. Apparently, it was good because George befriended Chief Kanosh and spoke at his funeral.
Anne and George were prominent members of their community and a newspaper report carried news of Anne’s ill health. Sadly, the newspaper’s good wishes were in vain and she died on 2 July 1895 aged fifty-two.
*****
From next week a new look for my weekly newsletter. To celebrate Wales qualifying for the football World Cup in Qatar, after a sixty-four year wait, over the summer months I will be profiling players from the past. I will also be featuring insights into the iconic TV series The Rockford Files, along with highlights from my family history research and news of my books.
As ever, thank you for your interest and support.
Hannah xxx
For Authors
#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 32 occasions.
After a break since Christmas 2021, my blog is back. A week before Christmas, I became ill with Covid. That illness continued well into January. Since then, I have been catching up with my writing schedule, hence the break.
I hope you will enjoy this blog post and future content.
My latest translations, the Italian version of Operation Locksmith and the Portuguese version of Damaged: Sam Smith Mystery Series book nineteen.
In this month’s issue of Mom’s Favorite Reads…
An exclusive interview with Jennifer Shahade two-time USA Women’s Chess Champion, poker champion, author and podcaster. Plus, Author Features, Nature, Photography, Poetry, Recipes, Short Stories, Jazz Appreciation Month, and so much more!
My Recent Genealogical Research
My 3 x great grandmother Sarah Ann Cottrell was born on 24 June 1848 in St Leonard’s, Shoreditch. Aged twelve she worked as a matchbox maker, on piece rates. Sarah Ann’s father, Mathew, was a fishmonger, a decent trade, so her matchboxes brought in bonus pennies to support her mother and five siblings.
Picture: Wellcome Trust
My 4 x great grandfather Mathew Cottrell was a fishmonger at Billingsgate Market. Here’s the market as Mathew would have seen it plus a description, both from the Illustrated London News, 7 August 1852.
In 1852, my 4 x great grandfather Mathew Cottrell was a fishmonger at Billingsgate Market so it seems fair to assume that his wife, Sarah, was adept at preparing fish dishes. Here’s some advice from A Mother’s Handbook, published the same year.
“Fish should be garnished with horseradish, or hard boiled eggs, cut in rings, and laid around the dish, or pastry, and served with no other vegetable but potatoes. This, or soup, is generally eaten at the commencement of a dinner.”
My 5 x great grandfather Samuel Cottrell was born on 11 July 1796 in Finsbury. After his marriage to Ann Baker he moved to Billingsgate where he worked as a fishmonger. Samuel and Ann were nonconformists, protestant dissenters. He lived in Dunnings Alley, a hotbed of dissent.
Somehow, Samuel and Ann avoided every census in the 1800s. However, the nonconformists kept detailed records, including details of Samuel’s family. These records confirm that a midwife was in attendance for all of Ann’s births along with, on occasion, a surgeon.
My 5 x great grandfather Samuel Cottrell lived a long life, 84 years. However, he struggled during his final two years. Unable to move freely, in 1878 he spent a month in Homerton Workhouse Infirmary. He signed himself out.
Two years later, Samuel spent two years in Bow Road Infirmary, pictured. Shortly after he left, a ‘Mad Russian’ murdered one of the inmates, slicing him with a knife. Within ten days Samuel was back in Homerton. He spent a further six months there, dying on 1 September 1880.
They kept stealing his shoes. My 6 x great grandfather John Cottrell was a boot maker. The Old Bailey website lists three occasions 1830 – 1832 when boys aged ten, twelve and seventeen stole his shoes. The court offered mercy to the ten year old, but the other two were transported for seven years.
St Mary Woolnoth, London. My 7 x great grandfather John Cottrell was born there on 6 Nov 1747 and baptised there on 29 Nov 1747. He ran a business as a chandler. He served on several coroner’s inquest juries and, like my Howe ancestors, was an Overseer of the Poor.
1 July 1762. An indenture belonging to my 7 x great grandfather John Cotterell. His father, also John, paid John Coleratt £80 (£8,200 today) so that he could learn the trade of tallow chandler. These indentures were standard in the 18th and 19th centuries with the names and trades added as applicable.
Apprentices were forbidden from playing cards, dice, entering taverns or playhouses, fornicating or marrying. Usually, these indentures covered a period of seven years. Little wonder that some apprentices broke the agreement and absconded.
John served his apprenticeship and in 1775 established a business on 55 Fore Street, Moorfield, selling food and household items.
As a ‘respectable member of the community’ my 7 x great grandfather John Cotterell served on five Coroner’s juries, in 1776, 1779, 1781, 1783 and 1785, each time investigating suspicious deaths in the community.
In 1785 on ‘Friday this 20th. Day of May by Seven of the Clock in the After noon twenty-four able and sufficient Men of said Liberty’ gathered at John’s house to investigate the death of Robert Jurquet. The jury concluded that being of unsound mind, with a razor, Robert Jurquet took his own life.
My 7 x great grandfather John Cotterell’s elder brother, William, was sword bearer of the City of London. The office was created in the 14th century when it was recorded that the Lord Mayor should have, at his own expense, someone to bear his sword before him:
‘a man well-bred’, one ‘who knows how in all places, in that which unto such service pertains, to support the honour of his Lord and of the City.’
Picture: George III receiving the Civic (Pearl) Sword from the Lord Mayor of London on his way to St Paul’s Cathedral, an event William probably attended.
As ever, thank you for your interest and support.
Hannah
For Authors
#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 32 occasions.
My latest translation, the Portuguese version of Snow in August, Sam Smith Mystery Series book sixteen.
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing author, playwright and journalist Tim Walker for Mom’s Favorite Reads. Meanwhile, Tim’s just published a new book, his thoughts on meeting stars of stage and screen. You can learn more about Tim’s book here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Turns-Secrets-Screen-Legends/dp/1914489004/
Ancestry have updated my DNA result. I’m 65% Welsh. The other 35% is shared between Belgium, the Channel Islands, England, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway.
My main genetic communities are Wales, Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia and Maryland.
I have cousins in Australia, New Zealand, California, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Toronto, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey and North Carolina.
I’m sure I have relatives in other countries and territories that this DNA test doesn’t cover, but it’s fascinating to see where my ancestors came from and where they settled as emigrants.
My ancestor Arthur Iveson was born on 16 June 1772 in Hawes, Yorkshire to Thomas Iveson and Margaret Taylor. Maybe due to complications from the birth Margaret died in October 1772 while Thomas died in 1788. As the youngest child, Arthur followed a tradition common amongst well-to-do families – he entered the Church.
St Margaret’s Church, Hawes. Credit: Wikipedia.
In 1793 the Bishop of Carlisle ordained Arthur as a deacon and a year later he became a priest in York. From York the Church sent Arthur to Nottinghamshire then to Norfolk where he established himself as Rector of East Bradenham.
In Norfolk, on 6 March 1797, Arthur married Martha English. Of course, as a rector Arthur could read and write, and he signed his name. Martha also signed her name, something not many women of the time could do, even women born into wealthy families.
Between 1798 and 1806 the couple produced six children: Ann, Thomas, born 18 March 1799, Arthur, Martha, Martha and Arthur. Martha #1 and Arthur #1 died in infancy.
Apart from the tragic infant deaths, everything was going well for Arthur. Between 1802 and 1817 he appeared on the Electoral Roll in Norfolk, which placed him in a privileged position, one of the elite in the country who could vote. In 1816 his son Thomas became a clerk to William James Murray in Kings Lynn and shortly after that he followed his father into the Church, becoming a vicar.
St Mary’s Church, East Bradenham. Credit: Wikipedia.
Arthur’s wife, Martha, died in 1828, and from that point events took a sinister turn.
At ten o’clock on the evening of 28 May 1832 Thomas entered Arthur’s rooms to talk with his father. The talk developed into an argument and Thomas produced a gun. He fired one shot, which entered Arthur’s heart.
With his father dying, Thomas ran next door to summon Captain Lake. He informed the captain of the shooting and Lake hastened to Arthur’s aid. The captain summoned two medical men, Mr Murlin, a surgeon, and Dr Tweedale, and they tended to Arthur, alas in vain, for he died within twenty minutes of the shooting.
The moment Arthur died, Thomas entered the kitchen and took a considerable amount of laudanum, which Mr Murlin promptly forced from his body. The Officers of Justice arrived and Thomas surrendered to them.
In July 1832 an inquest into the death of Arthur Iveson was held in a local public house, followed by a trial at the Quarter Sessions. During the inquest and trial it emerged that Thomas was ‘intelligent’ and a ‘gentleman’, although his behaviour of late had been eccentric.
The trial established that Thomas entered Arthur’s rooms with intent to shoot his father and that the bullet fired from his gun killed him. However, the jury acquitted Thomas on the grounds of insanity.
After the trial, Thomas entered a local infirmary and died there on 15 February 1836.
A Victorian Inquest
There is a postscript to this remarkable story. On 4 January 1848 in Hawes, Yorkshire, two cousins, John and Arthur Iveson, cousins of Arthur of Norfolk’s offspring, went drinking in a local pub, The Fountain Inn. They got drunk, argued, and engaged in a brawl. The brawl resulted in the death of Arthur Iveson.
The trail that followed delivered a verdict of manslaughter and John was sentenced to two months hard labour. After his prison sentence John resumed his role of local butcher. Twenty-two at the time of the manslaughter, he later married, raised a family and enjoyed a long life.
What to make of the Ivesons? Are they a violent branch of my family? I’m in touch with four first cousins, Iverson sisters, and no one would regard them as violent. Indeed, the opposite is true. It would appear that Thomas killed Arthur when in a troubled state of mind while John killed his cousin Arthur due to excessive alcohol consumption.
History repeats, so they say, but when it comes to family members killing each other maybe it’s better if it doesn’t.
To all current and future Ivesons, pax vobiscum – peace be with you.
As ever, thank you for your interest and support.
Hannah xxx
For Authors
#1 for value with 565,000 readers, The Fussy Librarian has helped my books to reach #1 on 31 occasions.
Hannah Howe 