This is the authorized history of the Hurt family. It starts with the purchase of The Green Hall, Ashburne, by Thomas Hurt in 1489 and traces their move to Casterne Hall, near Ilam in the Manifold Valley, where records show they were present in 1600. The text also examines the family's connection with Alderwasley Hall near Wirksworth, where the family moved in the 18th century and remained until the 1930s. It looks in detail at the known history of each generation and is augmented by a substantial number of photographs of family members, Hurt family life and their Derbyshire homes. It also documents the Hurt family's connection with other notable Derbyshire families including Sir Richard Arkwright and the Strutts, Cavendish and Manners families.

A fascinating exploration of the abandoned places and buildings within Derbyshire which have been left behind by history.

This book is a major study of child readers and their reading habits in the period when children's literature first became established.