I've read Shirley's other memoirs: but this is a historical, partly imagined, partly factual story of her mum's family, told mostly through the words of her great-grandfather. Similar in a way to the memoir of her father's life as a spy, which I also enjoyed. Charles Sutton - Shirley's great-grandfather - was involved in setting up many libraries in the city of Manchester in the UK back in the 19th century, and this is his story. A friend of Charles Dickens, he had an interesting life. Working on his family tree, he discovers a Monasticon, the vanishing book of the title. I was fascinated by his life, and the amazing disappearances and reappearances of the book. Interspersed are Shirley's notes about writing the memoir, and her search for the Vanished Book. Well written and entertaining, I definitely recommend this book.
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Vanishing book
The Vanishing Book What an amazing memoir. At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like this but I hated when I had to stop reading as I was reading while having no power (Hurricane Milton in Tampa, Fl—57hr no power so far). When Shirley Read-Jahn opened a box that was just hanging around she started reading all the documents her Great Great Grandfather had written—he was going to do a family tree but never finished it. She started reading and writing and when I got electricity back I read straight thru it. The book that her GGG was using to learn about his family (from 1202) and his second wife's family kept disappearing but always turned up again from being lost/stolen/etc. Would she ever find the book again after it was lost for so long and where on earth to begin to look. Trust me—you have to read this book.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2025Format: Kindle
- Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2024Format: Kindle
The Vanishing Book
What an amazing memoir. At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like this but I hated when I had to stop reading as I was reading while having no power (Hurricane Milton in Tampa, Fl—57hr no power so far). When Shirley Read-Jahn opened a box that was just hanging around she started reading all the documents her Great Great Grandfather had written—he was going to do a family tree but never finished it. She started reading and writing and when I got electricity back I read straight thru it. The book that her GGG was using to learn about his family (from 1202) and his second wife's family kept disappearing but always turned up again from being lost/stolen/etc. Would she ever find the book again after it was lost for so long and where on earth to begin to look. Trust me—you have to read this book.
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2024Format: Kindle
Top reviews from other countries
- Jo BeckfordReviewed in the Netherlands on October 31, 2023
A fascinating journey through the history of a book that keeps on going missing!
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
