Publications
Letters from Lavender Cottage: Hastings in WWII and Austerity - A Biography, by Victoria Seymour, published 19 October 2002 (180 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0954390105 & ISBN-13: 9780954390105) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:If you enjoy WWII history on the home front and the secret pleasure of reading someone's private letters, then Letters From Lavender Cottage- Hastings in WWII and Austerity is for you.
The book tells of the domestic hardships inflicted on the Hastings, England populace as a result of war, along with personal comment, biographical detail and pictures.
Canadian relatives come to the rescue of Lavender Cottage occupants, sending food and comforts to the household during harsh and austere times. The story of the three elderly ladies, who live in the cottage and cope with post war shortages is heart-warming, funny and touching.
The book tells of the domestic hardships inflicted on the Hastings, England populace as a result of war, along with personal comment, biographical detail and pictures.
Canadian relatives come to the rescue of Lavender Cottage occupants, sending food and comforts to the household during harsh and austere times. The story of the three elderly ladies, who live in the cottage and cope with post war shortages is heart-warming, funny and touching.
Letters to Hannah: WW II Recollections of Hastings and South East England, by Victoria Seymour, published 14 October 2003 (iv + 169 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0954390113 & ISBN-13: 9780954390112) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Letters to Hannah looks at WWII on the Home Front through the eyes of those who lived in Hastings and South East England, from September 1939 to December 1945. It also enlarges on the historical background covered in its companion book, Letters from Lavender Cottage.
Court in the Act: Crime and Policing in WWII Hastings, by Victoria Seymour, published 8 October 2004 (vi + 152 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0954390121 & ISBN-13: 9780954390129) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries
Host Families Wanted, by Victoria Seymour, published 2006 (iv + 150 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0954390156 & ISBN-13: 9780954390150) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:For over half century Hastings has been host to hundreds of thousands of young people from all over the world.
Host Families Wanted, the true story of overseas English language students in Hastings, is approached with the enthusiasm for detail that my regular readers expect of me.
It recounts my own experiences as student host mother, the company director of a family-run, Hastings based language school and how the work affected my life and family. The problem of street offences against students is considered, as are the efforts of the police and the local authority to reduce the crime and protect students.
To enrich the story there are interviews with local host families and the students' teachers. In a set of essays, a group of today's overseas students comment frankly on Hastings and their hosts.
Host Families Wanted, the true story of overseas English language students in Hastings, is approached with the enthusiasm for detail that my regular readers expect of me.
It recounts my own experiences as student host mother, the company director of a family-run, Hastings based language school and how the work affected my life and family. The problem of street offences against students is considered, as are the efforts of the police and the local authority to reduce the crime and protect students.
To enrich the story there are interviews with local host families and the students' teachers. In a set of essays, a group of today's overseas students comment frankly on Hastings and their hosts.
The Long Road to Lavender Cottage, by Victoria Seymour, published 30 March 2006 (iii + 185 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0954390148 & ISBN-13: 9780954390143) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries
Abstract:The now famous occupant of Lavender Cottage, Emilie Crane, returns, to let us back into her life and the daily doings of her neighbours on the Ridge. What was the truth about the supposed nudist colony opposite Lavender Cottage? Was the guest house close by really a haven for left wing agitators and a bolt hole for the scandalous occultist, Aleister Crowley?.
The author has meticulously researched the background and history of a period and place that was peopled not just by locals leading ordinary lives but by notable figures from the worlds of literature, religion, the arts, healing, politics and entertainment - the famous and infamous.
We are given glimpses into the Ridge's former large Victorian houses, cottages, farms, institutions and businesses and the lives of their occupants in peace time and war. The Long Road to Lavender Cottage also reveals dramatic events in Emilie Crane's daily life that she was not able to write about in her wartime letters, for fear of the government censor
The author has meticulously researched the background and history of a period and place that was peopled not just by locals leading ordinary lives but by notable figures from the worlds of literature, religion, the arts, healing, politics and entertainment - the famous and infamous.
We are given glimpses into the Ridge's former large Victorian houses, cottages, farms, institutions and businesses and the lives of their occupants in peace time and war. The Long Road to Lavender Cottage also reveals dramatic events in Emilie Crane's daily life that she was not able to write about in her wartime letters, for fear of the government censor
The Slow Turning Tide: Hastings in Austerity, 1946-1954, by Victoria Seymour, published 16 October 2008 (iv + 183 pp., published by the author, ISBN-10: 0954390164 & ISBN-13: 9780954390167) accessible at: British Library & East Sussex Libraries