Legacy of Secrets

About the Book

I began this novel when I was 90, and some stress occurred that I might not live to finish it.

The story is based on life in the beautiful Clwyd Valley of North Wales, during the economic depression of the thirties and World War II.

Lady Victoria Mortimer, widow of the son of a Marcher Lord, is the chief character. These noblemen would find eligible daughters of Welsh aristocrats to marry their younger sons for the purpose of extending their land holdings.

Victoria was the daughter of the Squire of The Plas in Llandyrnog , and life was idyllic until an exorbitant increase in property taxes occurred, following the Great War of 1914-18.

Eventually, a model village, including a Dame's School, was built through Victoria's initiative, to enhance her assets, because of the decline in farm values. This proved to be attractive for the nouveau riche who wished to retire in the country.The exigencies of the day created a demand for those who wished to live in the country, while life for Victoria and her family lost none of its charms.

Noblesse oblige

Read on.

About the Author

Trevor Lloyd Jones D.V.M., M.Sc., LL.D. was born in Mold, North Wales in 1909. By the time he was 17, his parents had died and he went to live on his uncle's farm in the Vale of Clwyd.

Now, at 90 he recalls with shimmering clarity his enjoyment of the summer sun at the place he calls his Welsh Parnassus. On Sunday afternoons (his only time-off ), he would jump on his motorcycle and head for his favourite Clwydian moutain and read poetry and books to his fancy. This gave him a lifelong love of the muses.

Coming to Canada when he was 20, he spent 18 months at U5 Ranch in the Columbia Valley of British Columbia, between the Rockies and the Selkirk mountains.

Dr. Jones' career has been in veterinary education and he was Dean of the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph from 1952 to 1969. He retired from the university in 1974. He then accepted several foreign assignments which took him to India, Africa, South America, Afghanistan, the Phillipines, and Nicaragua. He and his wife now live in Victoria.