Book 22 - John Douch "Smuggling : The Wicked Trade"

[jazzy_dave]

John Douch "Smuggling : The Wicked Trade" (Crabwell Publications)






This is quite a short hardback book on the history of smuggling around the Romney Marsh area of Kent. It is a very good entertaining read with plenty of old photographs and line drawings which enhances the text. The author; style is anecdotal and yet very factual. Local history books can tend to very dry and unexciting.

It was a pleasure to read. 

Comments

[siduri1959]

Romney Marsh. I remember when I was very young watching a Disney film about smugglers and Romney Marsh. It was fiction, of course. Been ages since I heard Romany Marsh mentioned!

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh is a favorite of mine from the old Wonderful World of Disney shows. :)

[inamac.livejournal.com]

The Disney film was adapted from the Dr Syn books by Russell Thorndike - good swashbuckling stuff though very amoral for these days.

The book looks interesting - Romney Marsh is a fascinating place well worth visiting (Rye and Dymchurch (lost in a 1950s time warp) and the strange 14C 'New Town' of Winchelsea.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Rye is one of my favorite towns

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Mine too - though I prefer Winchelsea (and the fabulous modern stained glass in the church).

By the way, I found this post through 'friends of friends' - Lil Shepherd is my housemate (and another Romney Marsh fan).

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Oh cool, thanks

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the information. :)

[siduri1959]

I always wanted to read the books, never actually found them anywhere, though. I do recall reading that Dr. Syn…was not such a great guy at times, LOL.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

BBC Radio 4Extra has just finished doing a reading of the first two (chronological) books. Since Thorndike didn't die until the 1970s (the first book was published in 1914) they won't be out of copyright until 2042, and have been out of print for ages, but were republished in 2011 by Romney Marsh books.

Rye still holds a bi-annual Dr Syn Festival - the next one is this August Bank Holiday.

[siduri1959]

I should look and see if I can turn up any copies. I always did want to read the books. I did know that there is a Dr. Syn festival, that sounds really interesting.

[siduri1959]

Yes, I think there two films done? I did really love those films because of the marshes-I lived in a marshy area.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

I think some where in my video tape collection I have them recorded. :)

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

It is now all silted up and Romney itself is called, for some odd reason, New Romney and there is also a few cottages and a local sjhop a mile away called Old Romney.

[siduri1959]

Really? You mean it is not a healthy marsh now? Interesting. I grew up in an area that was very marshy.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Romney is now well inland but a many hundred of years ago it was closer to the coast but the receding coastline has meant that the area of marshes are now dried up.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

Does it mention The Scarecrow? :p
Hugs, Jon

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

It does not.It mentions a number of gangs that use to smuggle in the area such as The Owlers.