The De Veres of Castle Hedingham

by Verily Anderson

The illustrious de Vere family appears to have originated from the Counts of Vermandois. Alberic de Ver (1040-1112) accompanied William the Conquerer over to England and his family rose to prominence in the years immediately following the conquest. His grandson, Aubrey de Vere (1137-1194), became the first Earl of Oxford. The family held the earldom among the male line for twenty generations, losing it for want of a male heir in 1703. One of the most powerful and noble families in Britain, almost noble all British noble families, and the royal family, descend from Alberic de Ver and his progeny.

261 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Born in 1915, Verily Bruce Anderson was the daughter of a clergyman (the Rev. Rosslyn Bruce), and was educated at Edgbaston High School for Girls, Birmingham, and Normanhurst School, Sussex. She studied at the Royal College of Music, in London, and worked in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry from 1939 to 1941. In 1940, she married Captain Donald Anderson, and had five children - one son and four daughters. In addition to her children's books - most notably, the "Brownie" series - she wrote a number of volumes of autobiography, and worked for the BBC from 1946 through 2002. She died in 2010.

Reviews

[Elliott · Rating 1 out of 5]

When Verily Anderson titles her book "The de Veres of Castle Hedingham" one would assume there to be more than one within. There is... but Anderson is primarily concerned with just one: the 17th Earl of Oxford. He takes up over 100 pages while the other 19 earls of Oxford are given a little over 150.
This alone wouldn't necessarily be altogether bad if she could be bothered to simply write history. As it is she's not altogether interested in doing that either.
Chapter 11 (pun intended), is where the mask drops. Nowhere is Anderson so in depth as to her belief in the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare's plays at which point Anderson presents her beliefs as fact.
Supposedly Oxford used "Shake-spear" as his pseudonym until it was changed to "Shakespeare" which doesn't bother Verily Anderson but Will Shakespeare's handwriting and spelling does. Not to mention that Verily Anderson supplies no evidence for this assertion save "others can do a better job than I." This bears an analogy.
Suppose you're accused of a crime. Representing yourself you state your innocence but your evidence is Verily Anderson's: "well, you know others could do a better job than me."
I guaran-goddamn-tee you that you will not win that case. Hence my rating.