Lily Style - Nelson’s Descendants in South Brent

"How researching my all but forgotten line of Nelson and Emma Hamilton descendants inspired me to branch into writing historical fiction.

My Nelson descendant ancestors lived in the south Dartmoor village of South Brent from 1891 until my grandfather’s death in 1979.

My own serendipitous move to Brent from Plymouth in 2015 coincided with being contacted by an unknown elder half-brother who our mum had given up for adoption at 6 weeks old!

My 'new' brother’s enthusiasm for our Nelson lineage kickstarted my own and I founded Emma Hamilton Society the following year.

Our mum’s old photo collection and memories, as well as searching genealogical databases, old books, etc, began to reveal living, interconnected people – my direct ancestors – whose stories I felt dutybound to share. I began writing regularly for Nelson-related publications, but my intuition about Emma and Nelson’s only child, Horatia’s true feelings for her socially despised mother needed to be told as a fiction.

Having learnt author craft as I go, I’m now rewriting my debut historical fiction, Horatia’s Secret (which is partly set in 1870s South Brent), and it should be complete in time for the 2022 Dartmoor Edge Literary Festival in October."