Bibliography - Janet Cameron
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Brighton and Hove Murders and Misdemeanours, by Janet Cameron, published 23 December 2008 (128 pp., Stroud: Amberley Publishing, ISBN-10: 1848681674 & ISBN-13: 9781848681675) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries

A look at the dark side of life, Victorian-style, when nothing was quite as it seemed and a public execution could be an entertaining family day out. Murderers, poachers, thieves, pickpockets and vagabonds all went about their business with impunity. Crime took place on the streets, on public transport, in homes, pubs, prisons, asylums, workhouses and brothels - it was all part of everyday life in Brighton and Hove in the late 1800s. Read about the notorious railway murderer, Percy Lefroy, who appeared at his trial in full evening dress and went to the gallows in an old brown suit. Gasp at the audacity of a temptress who fell in love with a doctor and tried to poison his wife, with strychnine laced chocolate. Then there's little Emily, a girl who received imprisonment with hard labour for stealing a few tempting pieces of gingerbread while a gaggle of disruptive young women loved causing a riot, flirting with men and smashing windows. It was madness and mayhem in those weird and wonderful times - and it's brought vividly to life by Janet Cameron.

LGBT Brighton and Hove, by Janet Cameron, published 30 November 2009 (128 pp., Stroud: Amberley Publishing, ISBN-10: 1848687176 & ISBN-13: 9781848687172) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

LGBT Brighton & Hove is an exploration of the development of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community from its earliest accessible beginnings. As well as the personal memories and experience of local LGBT people, the book includes accounts from the History Centre's comprehensive archives while literature is used to inform a representative sample of stories of the area's prominent LGBT writers, artists, musicians and philanthropists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the present day. There are accounts of prominent court cases, of wartime, and of mid and late twentieth century events, memories and personal experience. The book shows how LGBT people strove to 'make change happen' both individually and through forming organisations for mutual support and with specific aims. Later chapters draw on the personal stories of local people, including 'Coming Out', 'Civil Marriages' and the progress of 'Brighton Pride' from its difficult, political beginnings in the early nineties, to the celebration of today, attracting both goodwill and visitors from all over the world. There is still some way to go for LGBT people and the issues that still affect them - even in Brighton and Hove - but this book is an encouraging reflection on the change and progress that has already been achieved.

Paranormal Eastbourne, by Janet Cameron, published 4 November 2010 (128 pp., Stroud: Amberley Publishing, ISBN-10: 1848689969 & ISBN-13: 9781848689961) accessible at: East Sussex Libraries

Eastbourne and its surrounding area, is absolutely teeming with ghostly phenomena. Not surprising, given its colourful and fascinating history. Here, in Paranormal Eastbourne, are mind-blowing tales from the pubs, theatres, burial grounds and famous local landmarks. Dip into eyewitness accounts of the sinister goings-on behind the scenes at the fabulous haunted Pier. Marvel at the strange events that have affected the lives of many Eastbourne people because of an ordinary red Capri car. An Eastbourne nurse returns from the dead; a zombie stalks a sewage plant; tragic echoes resound in medieval tunnels and spooky cellars; fierce presences manifest around a great and ancient castle. A phantom headless horse gallops around The Redoubt, while orbs and UFOs whizz across the Eastbourne skies. This is exciting, heart-stopping stuff, suggesting that there is - out there - something very strange, something that we mortals can only just begin to imagine. It's all here in Paranormal Eastbourne!

In this fascinating book there are 26 chapters with titles ranging from 'Eastbourne Pier' to 'Sussex Superstition and Folklore', but perhaps those of most interest to readers of Sussex Past and Present are those on Pevensey, Michelham Priory and East Dean. It would seem that you cannot move without tripping over a phantom at Michelham. There are sightings reported of a 'huge white stallion', John Leame, an Elizabethan lady, the Black Phantom, 'who descends a staircase - that's no longer there - so that he/she appears to float from ceiling to floor'. Evidently Michelham is so full of paranormal phenomena that it has been subjected to a number of investigations, many of which have produced 'startling findings'.
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Janet Cameron has a lively writing style and shows a degree of scepticism towards her subject. We meet several observers, most of whom, like Charlie Prangell who works on Eastbourne Pier, do not conform to the stereotype of a person who has seen a ghost and perhaps for this reason, the reader might from time to time suspend her disbelief. The book is well illustrated and has an extensive bibliography: if it were a different shape and had a map showing the whereabouts of the sites, it would be ideal to slip into the pocket whilst walking around Eastbourne and surrounding area.

Sussex Villains: Rogues, Rascals & Reprobates, by Janet Cameron, published 1 April 2012 (144 pp., The History Press, ISBN-10: 0752460846 & ISBN-13: 9780752460840)

Discover the darker side of Sussex with this remarkable collection of true-life crimes from across the county. Featuring tales of some of the most notorious, nefarious and murderous characters from the county's past, including smugglers, highwaymen, poachers, thieves, con-men, poisoners, and even the odd bigamist, all factions of the criminal underworld are included in this macabre selection of tales. Drawing on a wide variety of historical sources and containing many cases which have never before been published, Sussex Villains will fascinate everyone interested in true crime and the history of Sussex.