Monkeying Around...
Helen Baggott
- Region:
- South West
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Author & Researcher
- Fee:
- Paid: From £50
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 23rd March 2025
- Tagged:
- Genealogy Postcards History
I’m often asked at talks, how I come upon the themes. The theme for this talk found me when I was researching my latest book, a novel set on Exmoor. Monkey puzzle trees seemed to be a common accessory for gardens in the area, and so I began looking for postcards from around the world that depicted this popular Victorian accessory. This talk explores the people who received postcards depicting the trees. It’s a strange theme, but once you start…
Available 2026
Views: 39 | Enquiries: 0About Helen Baggott
Zoom talks available. Short-notice enquiries are welcome.
Helen Baggott is a freelance editor and writer from Dorset.
Her most recent project is researching the stories behind postcards sent more than 100 years ago. Three collections of stories have been published as Posted in the Past, Posted in the Past Second Delivery and Posted in the Past Hands Across the Sea.
She has written for regional magazines; national magazines include This England, Discover Your Ancestors, Who Do You Think You Are?, Picture Postcard Monthly, Dorset Life and The Card Scene, and has also contributed to Family Tree magazine's blog. Her work has been recognised by national newspapers as a 'postcard detective' in I newspaper and an 'heirloom detective' in The Mail on Sunday's You magazine.
Through the power of Zoom she speaks to groups on both sides of the Atlantic and has been a speaker at the Family History Federation 's Really Useful Show and THE Genealogy Show.
"I thoroughly enjoyed your talk last evening, both content and delivery. It opened aspects of postcards that I had not thought about and has given me some useful ideas for developing my own family history research. I hope I have the pleasure of hearing you again."
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Helen Baggott
- Posted in the Past
- The Mayflower Connection
- The Empress of Ireland – Canada’s Titanic
- From Paper Kings to Hardware Barons
- From Log Cabin to the Palace of Westminster... and other true stories
- Hands Across the Sea: a miscellany of stories written by our ancestors
- From Bombs to Bournville... and other true stories
- Travels with my (great-great) aunt
- Lifeboats and Lighthouses – a tour around the coast exploring stories of heroism
- With Love from Grace...
- The Victorian legacy – what our ancestors did next
- An Exmoor visitor
- Addressing the Past
- Uncovering the maps and other true stories.
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