Sue Wilkes

I'm an author specialising in family history, social history, industrial history and literary biography. Real stories; real people; real lives.

Sunday, 9 November 2025

A Visit To Thiepval

Thiepval Memorial. Over ten years ago, we paid a visit to Loos Memorial so that I could pay my respects to my great-uncles Harry and Her...

'Scarlet Sin'

My latest feature for Jane Austen's Regency World magazine (Nov/Dec issue) is on the ancient craft of dyeing. In 1814, Jane Austen wr...

Friday, 18 July 2025

8 College Street, Winchester.

No 8, College Street, Winchester. A few weeks ago, I was very privileged to see inside No 8, College Street, Winchester, the house where J...

Tuesday, 1 July 2025

'Your Irish' Linen

My latest feature for Jane Austen's Regency World (July/August issue) is on linen manufacture. Flax-drawing and flax-breaking. In a l...

Tuesday, 6 May 2025

The Power of the Press

My latest feature for Jane Austen's Regency World (May/June issue) is on the advent of printing newspapers and books by steam-power, i...

Wednesday, 5 March 2025

'Hot-Pressed Paper'

My latest feature for Jane Austen's Regency World (March issue) is on the art of paper-making. Paper was needed, of course, for Jane...

Monday, 27 January 2025

The Last Child Chimney Sweep To Die At Work

A blue plaque is planned for George Brewster, a climbing boy (child chimney sweep) who died on 12 March 1875 after swallowing a large amou...

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About Me

Sue Wilkes: Cheshire, United Kingdom; I'm the author of several social history books and family history guides. My new book, Young Workers of the Industrial Age, for Pen and Sword, is out now. I'm a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. I write for adults and children. I like toast, crisp clear autumn mornings, and haunting secondhand bookshops. Je suis Européenne.

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