CAST IN PARADISE

INTRODUCTION
 
Cast in Paradise is an historic novel, based on fact, that follows the fortunes of working families in Witton Park, a small village in County Durham, England, from the opening of the iron works in the mid-1800s, during its zenith in the 1860s to its decline and closure in the 1880s.

Through the eyes and lives of migrants from other parts of Britain, the times and tribulations of this tough, down to earth and sometimes bitterly divided community are brought to life. Witton Park in the late nineteenth century was a bonanza to capital investors and attracted workers in droves —numbers that far outstripped the more famous gold rushes of California and the Klondike. Wages erupted so that men labouring in the iron works or mining coal from the local pits earned three or four times than that of an agricultural worker. Employment at Witton Park brought unparalleled wealth to many ordinary people but for others it brought misery.

 

Bouts of excessive drinking and addiction to gambling resulted in domestic violence and ruin to some. And life in such close proximity also brought to a head their ingrained religious beliefs. The social disorders of the nineteenth century village were complicated. Not only did the community have its share of drink-related problems, marital disputes, neighbours disagreements and criminal offences, it was also wracked by unionists versus non-members, workers against management and clashes between the Irish and Welsh.

Perhaps, worst of all, was the Irish question of Home Rule, brought over to England by the two distinct groups of Fenians and Orangemen, differences that festered just below the surface. Paradise attracted hard men; good and bad.
It became home to thousands who lived, loved and laboured for a better life. They built a village and set down roots in the iron-hard ground — roots that hold together still.

 
  • 273 pages
  • 6" (150mm) x 9" (230mm).
  • 20lb (73.3 g.s.m.) white bond paper
  • Weight : 420 gms.
  • Cover Mono. 10pt coated-one side cardstock

 

While creating a database of the 1841 – 1901 village censeii I decided to write the history of the village from its conception in 1845 to the closure of the iron works - the reason for its very existence. All events were researched from newspapers etc. and, apart from the central characters, all other characters were real people - plucked from the relevant census. They could be your ancestors.

 

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Send to : H. Chadwick, 10 Burdon Close, Newton Aycliffe, Co. Durham DL5 4ES, United Kingdom Email : howard@castinparadise.co.uk

Payment: Overseas – International Money Order
U.K. – Personal cheque or Postal Order

Available on line from:

Trafford Bookstore
Trafford catalogue number : 04-0468
ISBN 1-4120-2640-7

 Price
US$ 24.00, Can $27.25
Euro 19.50, GB £14.00 + p&p

 

Also available from:

Amazon.com ISBN 1-4120-2640-7

and

Barnes and Noble ISBN 1-4120-2640-7

 


Hoping you have an enjoyable read. I leave this historical legacy to the few descendants of the original Witton Parkers that remain and to those who follow, like the first immigrants, a sound sense of history on which to rebuild our beloved village H.Chadwick 2004

 

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