Writing

A regular contributor to Family Tree Magazine and Who Do You Think You Are

I have two books in production

A Lady on the Margins: A Suffolk Woman’s Life Through Victorian and Edwardian Change.

This book traces the life of a Suffolk woman who began her story on the margins of Victorian society. She raised two illegitimate children at a time when such circumstances carried deep social judgement, yet she went on to marry, build a larger family, and create a lineage that continued long after her own lifetime.

Her world was shaped not only by the expectations placed on women of her class, but also by the hardships faced by those she loved. Illness and loss touched her family repeatedly, from her earliest days to the final years of her life, leaving a mark on the choices she made and the resilience she developed.

Spanning the strict moral codes of the Victorian era, the shifting landscape of the Edwardian years, and the upheaval of a country at war, her life offers a window into the experiences of ordinary women whose stories rarely make the history books. Through her, we see how strength is forged in quiet moments, and how a single life can shape generations.

Names in the dust – individual stories of life in the workhouse

For nearly two centuries, the stories of those who entered the workhouse have remained largely untold. Hidden in bundles of records and fragments of testimony, their voices have waited in silence, until now.

This book brings together the experiences of men, women, and children who found themselves inside the workhouse both before and after the 1834 Poor Law Act. Their lives were shaped by poverty, circumstance, and the harsh realities of a system designed to deter rather than support. Yet within these walls were people with hopes, fears, humour, stubbornness, and strength.

These accounts, uncovered and told here for the first time, cast a clear light on what life was really like for those who had nowhere else to turn. They reveal the choices people faced, the pressures that pushed them through the workhouse gates, and the resilience that carried them through.

By stepping into their world, you begin to understand the humanity behind the records. Their stories encourage empathy, challenge assumptions, and remind us how simple and fragile life could be. In giving them space on the page, we allow their experiences to be seen, heard, and finally remembered.

“Tuning in to one of Julie Johnson’s presentations, or reading one of her articles in Family Tree, is always an invitation to stop, slow down, and reflect on what it is that the genealogical records are revealing in a more thoughtful, often poignant way. Julie has a gift noticing and then carefully researching the lives of those who are often otherwise overlooked, giving us all a more personal, respectful view of those who have lived before us and the struggles they so frequently faced. An important and heartening aspect of family history research.”

Helen Tovey, Editor Family Tree Magazine