In my novel Radwinter, the main character Thomas is asked by his older brother to research the family tree… Thomas is a little puzzled as to why he should be asked to do it, but takes on the task and soon finds himself fascinated by his ancestors, and determined to find a link between himself and another Thomas Radwinter who he comes across on a census for 1841.
As with many people who start on a quest to find their family’s history, Thomas learns much more than history, he begins to see not only the family’s roots, but also his own life and his relationship with people he works with and his own wife in a different way; and towards the end of the novel, the song by Johnny Nash ‘I can see clearly now’ comes into his head. History, not just family history but history in general isn’t about looking back, as much as it is about looking around and seeing things clearly because you know why they are as they are.
Lois Elsden 