King's Lynn to host book launch

  • 2022-03-21
A publication by the late historian Elizabeth Griffiths, entitled “Managing for Posterity: The Norfolk Gentry and their Estates c.1450–1700”, is due to be launched in King's Lynn towards the end of May.

The University Hertfordshire Press is publishing the book, which examines how the landed gentry secured their status and survival in the early modern period. This, Griffiths argues, was heavily dependent on the management of their estates.

Griffiths focuses on the Norfolk estate of Sir Hamon and Alice Le Strange and suggests that their success was based on recognising the importance and economic value of information. This is evidenced in detailed records they kept, which facilitated both ongoing reform and the meeting of new challenges. The book itself is a collection of four related research papers.

Griffiths was a University of Exeter honorary research fellow, who in April 2020 passed away, just as the text was being prepared. It has since been revised, edited and reviewed by her close academic collaborator, Professor Jane Whittle, of the Economic and Social History Department at the University of Exeter, who will discuss Griffiths’ work at the launch.

The event is free, but all attendees must book in advance. Printing services can be a useful resource when promoting an event like this.

The Managing for Posterity Book Launch has a starting time of 7pm on Friday, 20th May at Thoresby College, King's Lynn.