John Titford

The Penguin Dictionary of British Surnames is a useful and fascinating guide to the surnames that offer a unique insight into the place of origin, the occupations - and even the personality traits - of our ancestors. Detailed and informative, this dictionary covers the widest range of British surnames and is essential reading for anyone intrigued by the story of their name and by the history of their family. This edition replaces our out of date (and out of print) 1967 edition.

Researchers in family history are guided through British archives with a view of the records and published sources avilable. Each type of record, from personal recollections, photographs and other memorabilia to civil, legal and religious records, newspapers and directories, is analyzed, and the researcher is guided to the many detailed finding aids or indexes. The early chapters help the beginner take the first steps in obtaining information from living relatives, drawing family trees and starting research in the records of births, marriages and deaths, or in census records. For more experienced researchers, it offers information on records that are harder to find or use. Research in the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands is also covered, as are developments in information technology, applications on CD and through the Internet, and a reading list is included.

Featuring cartoon-like illustrations that aim to capture the warmth and humour of the East Midlands, this work is a celebration of the dialect spoken in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and South Staffordshire.