Strange Will Requests and Bequests: Exploring the Vaults of Somerset House - Softcover

Griffiths-Jones, AJ

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1036194965 ISBN 13: 9781036194963

Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2026

Synopsis

Tucked away in the vaults of Somerset House lies one of Britain’s most revealing and eccentric historical treasures: a vast archive of Last Wills and Testaments. These documents, often the final words of the dead, hold more than just legal instructions; they’re windows into the character of those gone before, into their conflicts and lives. From vengeful codicils and heartfelt farewells, to wills etched on eggshells or hidden in hollow bedposts, this book uncovers a trove of bizarre and entertaining bequests. Here are men and women who used their final words to settle scores, impose odd conditions, or deliver one last laugh ― sometimes at the expense of expectant heirs. For family historians, these wills offer more than just names and dates. They reveal values, relationships, secrets, and social customs that breathe life into ancestral records. Whether you're tracing your ancestors or simply enjoy tales of posthumous mischief, this journey into the strange world of testamentary history proves that death doesn’t always mean silence.

About this title

About the Author

A.J. Griffiths-Jones is a criminal researcher and genealogist with a passion for history and unsolvable mysteries. The author of a host of fictional novels, she also loves to travel and spent ten years working in China as Language Training Manager for an international bank. Nowadays you will find A.J. at home in a Turkish town on the Aegean coast, where she lives with her husband David and adopted street cat, Pebbles.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1036194965
• ISBN 13: 9781036194963
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248