Oh Happy Day: Those Times and These Times by Carmen Callil is an account of the author’s family history and ancestry research.

Like author, Carmen Callil, I am also very interested in family history and we share a typical background. My ancestor’s are more likely to be found in workhouse records than country houses, and, like her, a branch made their way to Australia and not necessarily willingly…

This is a fascinating account of the author’s family history, but wrapped up in a general history of the times. It begins with the birth of her great-great-grandmother, born in 1808. From that one record, unfolds the history of industry, of arrests, workhouses, protests, strikes, the labouring classes, the Chartists and transportation, among many other subjects. I found this a really readable account of her own family history, and enjoyed the way she branched out into other subjects. The blurb of this book does say it is, ‘fuelled by righteous anger,’ and there are, definite political undertones in this book. I found it a bit unnecessary at times – yes, times were unjust, but there was an attempt to create modern parallels that felt a little laboured in parts.

That said, overall, I found it a really interesting read and full of lovely details. So, for example, there is a cartoon from Punch, 1848, called, ‘Emigration as remedy,’ showing firstly a family huddled in poverty ‘here’ and then ensconced in their new home, and life, ‘there.’ It was a time of migration, of industry changing lives and jobs, and of societal change. Callil shows the real history behind these facts, using her own, family story, to illustrate events. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.