Banbury man publishes book on the great Essex earthquake of 1884

A Banbury man has written his first book centred around the great Essex earthquake of 1884.
Banbury man - Benjamin James Thomas - has written his first book centred around the great Essex earthquake of 1884.Banbury man - Benjamin James Thomas - has written his first book centred around the great Essex earthquake of 1884.
Banbury man - Benjamin James Thomas - has written his first book centred around the great Essex earthquake of 1884.

Benjamin James Thomas, who is a PhD student in creative writing at Brunel University London, has recently published his first book called '1884: Providing a representation to those affected by the 1884 Essex Earthquake.'

He said: "I was born and bred in Colchester in Essex, which is why I decided to release this book about the Essex Earthquake that I remember learning about in primary school.

"However, I moved to Banbury a couple of years ago, and have subsequently fell in love with the town. I spent much of lockdown walking around Banbury getting to know the place, and have definitely not regretted my decision to move here."

Banbury man - Benjamin James Thomas - has written his first book centred around the great Essex earthquake of 1884.Banbury man - Benjamin James Thomas - has written his first book centred around the great Essex earthquake of 1884.
Banbury man - Benjamin James Thomas - has written his first book centred around the great Essex earthquake of 1884.

It has been a childhood dream to become a published author for Ben Thomas.

He added: "Ever since I was a child I was interested in writing, and the dream was to become a journalist or an author. In school my favourite subject was always English and I always took pride in writing long creative pieces. Most of my teenage years I spent hours writing fiction that never saw the light of day. When I went to university, I originally studied linguistics, which I didn’t enjoy, so when choosing an MA degree, I went back to my passion and studied literature, and I haven’t looked back since."

The new book is a creative piece focused around the earthquake which occurred in Wivenhoe, Essex on April 22, 1884 and the events which occurred the days before and after.

Based over three chapters set across the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of April 1884 shows the perspective of three characters who were at the centre of the Great English Earthquake. William Ham, a master mariner, Lord Alfred Paget, a senior politician and Laura Sibley, a hand servant.

1884 aims to represent how the 'local characters' coped with the peculiar occurrence, while giving the reader an insight into how the towns of Wivenhoe and Colchester were damaged immensely by what has been said to be one of the most destructive earthquakes to have ever struck the United Kingdom.

You can purchase a copy of the new book through the following Amazon web link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/1884-Providing-representation-affected-Earthquake/dp/B09K2BBM69/Ben added: "I wanted to write something about where I grew up as it combined two of my passions – local history and creative writing. So when I thought back to big events I remembered learning about as a child, the Essex Earthquake stood out. I remember wandering around Wivenhoe – my home town – on a primary school trip and learning about the damage that took place in the town, and it fascinated me, so it seemed such an obvious topic to discuss when it came to writing 1884."

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