A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council

This book hits on the clever, evocative idea of retelling fifteen of Wales's most infamous murders or mysterious deaths by focussing on the gravestones. The graves and landscapes around them are depicted in beautiful photographs and each story is accompanied by directions to find the grave. Some of the pieces have also appeared in the Welsh Country magazine.

The stories are, for those interested in a particular case: Mary Morgan, hanged for killing her baby; Thomas Heslop, shot in a duel; Elizabeth Jones, poisoned; Margaret Williams, murdered by persons unknown; John Price, murdered as part of a family feud; Adeline Coquelin, drowned in a shipwreck; Mary Kavanagh, murdered for two watches; Richard Lewis (Dic Penderyn), hanged; Eleanor Williams, murdered; Jane Lewis, probably murdered though the inquest found it suicide; Joseph Butler, gamekeeper, shot by Wil Cefn Coch; Sarah Jacob, the Welsh Fasting Girl; John Johnes, shot by his butler in revenge; John Thomas, probably murdered at 11; and Arthur Linton, a champion cyclist who died young, possibly as one of the first victims of performance drugs in sport. As you'll see, the cases are a mix of the tragic, the unjust and the mysterious, though it is an ugly, depressing fact that so many are young women whose deaths seem to be connected to their getting pregnant when unmarried. The author tells the stories clearly and effectively and often gives a wider insight into the history of the period, for example when he uses the story of Adeline Coquelin to give a picture of the wrecking crews preying on ships at the time.

I found the graves fascinating, especially those where on the stone itself the families of the victims cry out for justice against the murderers that were never caught. The book is excellently presented in the writing and pictures, and I found the stories I knew and the stories I didn't equally interesting to read. As the author says, these are stories that should be remembered.

Stories in Welsh Stone

Geoff Brookes

The secrets within 15 Welsh graves, according to the subtitle of this Volume One - nothing north of Presteigne - of a pilgrimage to churchyards in search of significant gravestones. Brookes is deputy head of a Swansea school and got the bug for traipsing around graveyards when he heard about the 1823 headstone of the murdered Margaret Williams in Cadoxton. This asserts that the "Savage Murderer" might get away with it for now, but that "the Cry of Blood will assuredly pursue him to a certain and terrible but righteous Judgement". Nine of these stories appeared first in the Welsh Country magazine but have been expanded and joined by other tales. So we have Dic Penderyn, the scapegoat wrongly hanged after the Merthyr Rising of 1831; Thomas Heslop, shot in the back in the last duel fought in Wales near Newcastle Emlyn in 1814; Judge John Johnes of Dolaucothi, Pumsaint, killed by his butler in 1876; and Sarah Jacob, the Welsh Fasting Girl from Llanfihangel ar Arth. Perhaps it's the teacher in him, but this reads a bit like it's been done for children. And there's too much free - and sometimes dodgy - comment amid the sacred facts. The research is also sketchy at times. These don't pretend to be full and accurate accounts, but depending upon a few books and in some instances the Cambrian newspaper means missing or misunderstanding significant detail. In the case of the Fasting Girl, Brookes ignores the magisterial examination by the medical historian Dr John Cule, who also spoke to surviving relatives, in favour of a modern potboiler based principally on contemporary newspapers. Despite that, this is a colourful and handsome book about passion, drama, injustice and tragedy.

Discover the stories buried in graveyards

Graveyards are fascinating places. Full of mystery, full of history and full of interesting tales.

And one man who thinks so is author Geoff Brookes who has delved into the secrets within 15 Welsh graves in his new book 'Stories in Welsh Stone'.

Geoff's 15 stories are not happy tales - they range across the 19th Century telling of infanticide, shipwreck, anorexia and even murder.

One of the stories is devoted to Thomas Heslop - the last man killed in a duel in this country - who is buried in a rectangular tomb in Llandyfriog church.

Another relates the tragic tale of Sarah Jacob of Llanfihangel ar Arth who starved herself to death at the tender age of 12.

This beautifully produced hardback book by Teifi Valley publishers Welsh Country Magazine is on sale now, price £18.99.

Geoff will be holding a book signing session in Waterstones, Carmarthen, tomorrow from noon to 2pm.

Deputy Head shares stories in Welsh Stone

Geoff Brookes, Deputy Head of Cefn Hengoed Community School is celebrating the publication of his new book this month.

'Stories in Welsh Stone' is a product of Geoff's pastime - seeking out the stories behind gravestones in Wales.

Geoff's fifteen stories are about ordinary people whose lives are unexpectedly transformed by extra-ordinary events.

Based in the nineteenth century, the stories are from across Wales and from the whole range of that momentous century.

They tell of infanticide, shipwreck, anorexia and murder, and are fascinating stories with an insight into how difficult so many people's lives were during that time.

Said Geoff, "These memorials really bring the past alive. Some people live exceptional lives and others become interesting in the manner of their death. Everyone has a story to tell.

Deputy head's chilling tome-stone stories from local graveyards

Published in TES Cymru on 31 October, 2008 | By: Isabella Kaminski

Geoff Brookes, deputy head of Cefn Hengoed Community School in Swansea, is poised to publish his first collection of Welsh tales, based entirely on his research into tombstones.

Stories in Welsh Stone tells the tales of 15 people, mostly young women, who met untimely or interesting deaths. Mr Brookes, who has lived in Wales for 27 years but was born in Sheffield, believes there is a fascinating story behind each headstone he visits.

I always wondered what lives these people had led," he said. "It's not necessarily about death. It's about life and the stories of dramatic lives that need to be preserved."

The first story begins with the "murder stone" of a young woman who died while pregnant in 1822. Her grave faces the place where her presumed killer once lived.

Mr Brookes is an established author, having written books on the special educational needs of dyspraxic pupils, the poet Seamus Heaney and a guide to being a successful deputy head.

He is careful to separate his writing and teaching careers, but said many of the stories were still relevant to young people today.

"What you discover is that people remain the same and have to deal with the same pressures and problems. Lots of the gravestones are for young women who were pregnant," he said. He encourages his pupils to write about their lives and family histories. "Everyone has an interesting story," he said.