The BRITANNIA STREET story begins when Beth Cox is twelve years old and her family moves into a new house in the North West region of England so her father wouldn’t have such a long commute to work. Cox narrates the story with alternating chapters about her life and her search for who her ancestors were and what they were about. Cox closely identifies with her great-grandmother Elizabeth, who carries with her a shameful legacy within the family, a woman who she believes has been maligned and misunderstood by others. Cox is obsessed with finding out more about Elizabeth, thinking that by doing so she will have better insight into herself and not be so ashamed of certain things that she’s experienced in her own life. Unleashing times past, facing truths, and studying her ancestral history occupy a good deal of Cox’s adult life and are cathartic and rewarding for her.

A large share of this book is devoted to Cox’s genealogy research—what methods and resources she used and detailed accounts of what she discovered about her ancestors. She states in the last chapter that her purpose for writing this book was to change the perception that her family had of her great-grandmother Elizabeth and explore her own life between the ages of twelve and sixteen in particular in an effort to obtain a deeper understanding of herself. Cox’s writing style is descriptive and fluid with good rhythm and imagery. She is candid about her life experiences, some of which are quite personal. Her reflections on past events, her insight, and her introspection create an appreciation for what she went through and how being more aware of her roots helped her accept who she is. BRITANNIA STREET would be an easier read with more frequent paragraph breaks, devoting each one to just a single main idea.

BRITANNIA STREET reads like a memoir, and in the final chapter of the book, Cox refers to it several times as a “memoir.” But on the back cover, it is called a “fictionalised biography.” This raises the question as to which parts of the narrative are real and which ones are imaginary.

BRITANNIA STREET author Beth Cox provides an interesting, descriptive account of three periods of her life that includes some similarities to the life of her great-grandmother Elizabeth, the ancestor for whom she is named and with whom she most closely relates.

~Florence Osmund for IndieReader