Jan Toms – författare

Features memorials and graves of animals that enriched homes, saved lives, won bets, inspired poets, transported munitions, endured danger, achieved notoriety, and captured hearts. This work is of interest to animal lovers.

The Isle of Wight has a fiercely proud history with monarchs, merchants, militiamen, smugglers, soldiers and sons of the plough all leaving their indelible mark. Rescued from skips and found in boxes in attics, these pictures bring the Isle of Wight to life in a special way. With the majority of them never having been published before, these archive photographs with informative captions will be of great interest to all who know this fascinating island.

Once renowned as a place to dump criminals, and with a past steeped in smuggling, the Isle of Wight provides copious tales of corruption, violence and delinquency. From the customs officer who had both his hands severed by smugglers, to Bembridge witch Molly Downer who embarrassed the vicar by making him her heir, this book contains a vast array of misdeeds and miscreants. Featuring criminals such as Michael Morey, who butchered his grandson, and thirteen-year-old John Leigh, who strangled his father and, caught in the act by his sister, threw her from a window, Isle of Wight Villains details the darker side of this island paradise.

Did you know?A new species of cat-like dinosaur, yet to be named, was discovered on the Isle of Wight in 1988.Darwin began his world-famous ‘On the Origin of the Species' while staying at the Kings Head Hotel.There are 21 tourists to every Island resident.The Little Book of the Isle of Wight is a funny, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no one will want to be without. The Island’s most eccentric inhabitants, blood-curdling murders and literally hundreds of facts combine to make this required reading for locals and visitors alike.Illustrated with humorous cartoons and delivered with wit and flair, this captivating compendium is almost impossible to put down.