A Snippet from the Heart

The Heart of Tea, a book I have been writing on and off for about a year, WILL be released in 2012. When is anyone’s guess. When I’m happy with it, I suppose.

Here’s a snippet. It’s annoyingly the first bit of a much longer piece. Just as a  taste tester.

Tea Pioneers: Twining

Thomas Twining annoys me.

But let’s be clear. The Reverend Thomas Twining, preacher and scholar, had the temerity to have a comprehensive and contemporaneous biography written about him. This annoys me.

His father, Thomas Twining, after whom a tea empire is named, did not.

So we know that Junior was “able to play the organ and harpsichord in masterly manner”.

Senior wasn’t impressed when Junior chose the scholastic life – becoming a preacher or teacher were the only academic options back then.

How would it feel to have your only son (from your first marriage, anyway) choose God over Tea? Must have been tough.

So we are left to fragments to construct the life of the interesting Thomas Twining – because quite frankly, the only thing remotely interesting about the rector of White Notley was his famous dad. Junior is quite famous for his translations of Aristotle’s poems, but then Aristotle was more famous for his maths.

So it seems Junior just never ever concentrated on the important bits.

Anyway, let’s talk about the real hero of this all, Thomas Twining Senior.

So, there’s a snippet. You can register for the Heart of Tea mailing list here to be kept informed.