St Neots , together with Eynesbury, Eaton Socon and Eaton Ford, has long lacked a comprehensive and fully illustrated history. The deficiency is made good in splendid style by this well-researched book. From the first appearance of local tracks and river crossings, the author describes how the earliest Neolithic settlements developed through succeeding ages until there were well-established communities by the time the Romans came. In a very readable and highly illustrated narrative the author explores the lives and work of the ordinary townspeople through the centuries, as well as describing the more dramatic episodes such as a Civil War battle in 1648, three gruesome murders and a daring bank robbery. Among notable personalities in the story are the man who assassinated a Prime Minister, one who achieved fame by growing to be eight feet six inches tall and the first British quadruplets to survive. This is a significant contribution to the published history of East Anglia that will be warmly welcomed throughout the area.
