THE KING OF THE NORFOLK POACHERS: HIS LIFE AND TIMES. A BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR OF I WALKED BY NIGHT. By Charlotte Paton.

2009 1st edition. 8vo (160 x 240mm). Pp207+1p ad. Colour illustrations, colour and b/w photographs, bibliography. Blue boards, spine titled in silver.

This is the biography of Fred Rolfe, author of I Walked by Night: Being the Life and History of the King of the Norfolk Poachers, first published in 1935. Charlotte Paton is a local history enthusiast and, ironically, a magistrate. Paton describes the Rolfe family's life and circumstances in great detail from her research - including court records in which Rolfe appears with regularity. The author assesses how much of I Walked by Night can be taken at face value, and contrasts Rolfe's account with the documents assembled during her researches. An interesting book, especially when read in conjunction with Rolfe's I Walked by Night.