New book about the places behind famous people from Norfolk

You will have heard the saying before but this time it really is true… there is something to interest everyone in this new book.

What makes Norfolk: Places Behind The Faces by John Ling so special is that it also covers people and events in more recent times.

The Edith Cavell memorial statue in Tombland, Norwich in 2017. (Image: Newsquest)
And that includes, some may say, happenings that took place just the other day!
Well, almost.

It will inspire you to go sighting-seeing in our county and discover what more about what went before us and how it has shaped our lives today.

John lives in Norwich and has spent many years researching the history of East Anglia.

Previous works include Illustrated Tales of Norfolk and Windmills, Watermills of Suffolk and Windmills of Norfolk.

The birthplace of Anna Sewell, Sewell House, Yarmouth, who was the author of Black Beauty was in the process of restoration on November 17, 1950 (Image: Newsquest)
He spent his time during lockdown writing this book and now we can get out and about to explore the visitor attractions he tells us about.

We are introduced to the likes of Lord Nelson, nurse Edith Cavell, Anna Sewell, Elizabeth Fry, Howard Carter and many more, such as writer Sir Henry Rider Haggard, born at Bradenham, in 1856.

A man who loved Norfolk, especially Cromer…Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (Image: Wellcome Collection)
And did you know two Sherlock Holmes stories are believed to have been directly inspired by Sir Arthur Conon Doyle’s visits to North Norfolk – especially Cromer.

His Hound of the Baskervilles was written in 1901, after his holiday in the town….and there’ s talk of a certain “Black Shuck!”

Most of the people we meet on the way through his armchair stroll of Norfolk were born and raised in the county and others with famous Norfolk links such as the legendary Native American Pocahontas.

The book also explores places linked with bloody conflicts and uprisings such as Boudicca’s battles with the Romans, Kett’s Rebellion and the Peasants’ Revolt.

There are statues across our county of people with who led extraordinary lives such as George Vancouver, born in King’s Lynn on June 22 1725.

Captain Vancouver’s statue at Purfleet Quay, King’s Lynn (Image: Immanuel Giel)
He was a Royal Navy captain who gave his name to Vancouver, Washington, USA, the city of Vancouver in British Columbia, Vancouver island, and mountains in New Zealand and on the border between the United States and Canada.

In Thetford there is a statue of the writer and revolutionary Thomas “Rights of Man” Paine, another extraordinary man who also made his name in America.

Thomas Paine’s statue, Thetford. (Image: Amberley Publishing)
So many more great stories are told as author John takes us on a journey of discovery around our county. The people, the buildings, the towns, the countryside, film and television locations… a compulsive read.

Portrait of Elizabeth Fry. (Image: Wellcome Collection)
And that includes stars from the 1960s and 70s and the places where we used to rock – and roll!

Norfolk Places Behind The Faces by John Ling is published by Amberley at £15.99.