Birmingham: The Mourning Brooch

The Mourning Brooch

Speaker: Jean Renwick

Jean Renwick’s talk reveals years of research behind her family saga, The Mourning Brooch, based upon the lives of real Yorkshire people who lived in the second half of the 19th and first half of the 20th century. After inheriting a mourning brooch, Jean was intrigued to know who was Elizabeth Addy commemorated in the brooch, and what happened to the two little girls she left behind. The novels reveal how the sisters’ lives took them in very different directions.

Using newspaper archives, Jean discovered scandals, adding drama to the tale, and research in England and the USA revealed much about the personalities of the characters. And the story moves to London, Liverpool, Philadelphia – even Constantinople – all based on fact. Finally, she will explain how she handles the gaps in knowledge and will report on progress in writing the last part of the saga.

Do you have a piece of mourning jewellery?  Bring it to the meeting and share what you know of its history.

Jean Renwick was brought up in the West Midlands and went to school in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton.  After retirement, she achieved a Masters in History of Art at the University of Warwick and then embarked upon a second career as a novelist.