Jamestowne Bookworks

September 2022

The Boy Who Could Bee is a debut novel in children’s literature. An interwoven fantasy about honeybees and the real world of their keepers. After Joe gets into mischief at the monastery, the abbot orders him to learn beekeeping. Unfortunately, he has more to cope with than a grouchy old monk, irritable insects, and cousin Emily from London.
Featured on BBC Radio and Williamsburg Book Festival and endorsed by James Alexander Thom, NYT bestselling novelist: “The old mystic symbiosis of honeybee intelligence and hive-keeper husbandry told through the viewpoints of both species—what a lesson!”
Neil Steele’s radio show (interview)
“A honey of a book” Virginia Gazette
Profit pledged to children’s cancer charities.

Coming 2023

This Old House in Appalachia is an anthology of essays, poems, and photographs inspired by the moving sight of abandoned homes in the central Appalachian Mountains, Deserted dwellings and ghostly ruins left a deep impression on the British author and compiler when he settled in West Virginia.
“But it’s when you see an empty chair rocking in the wind, or an old house with no lights or chimney smoke, that the realization comes: Absence is a powerful presence” James Alexander Thom, NYT best-selling author

Coming 2023-4

Cheating Time is an update and first digital edition of a book for general readers about the biology of human and animal aging (Macmillan and W.H. Freeman, translated into 5 languages). Chapter titles include: Mating Madness, A Dog’s Life, Old Father William, Programmed Senescence, The Great Trade-off, Brown Séquard’s Elixir, The Gland Grafters, Hormones Come of Age, The Meaning of Menopause, The Shape of Steroid Action, A Very Infertile Species, Brave New Age?
“A marvelous history of the roots of biomedical gerontology.” Caleb E. Finch, University of Southern California

Let There Be Life is the authorized biography of the IVF pioneer and Nobelist, Sir Robert Edwards (1925-2013). A compelling account of how he led the medical and social revolution to make babies in “test-tubes’.”
“Robert Edwards changed the world, bringing life, hope, and joy to millions of people. I owe him everything.” Louise Brown (world’s first IVF baby)
“Roger Gosden has captured the historical backdrop, personal motivations, incredible challenges overcome, and societal implications.” Robert Gore-Langton (Amazon).

Royalties pledged to charity, but since sales haven’t yet covered expenses I donated $1,000 to two relevant charities. I need to be a better marketer!

A Biologist in Paradise by Roger Gosden celebrates his love of nature and science in a collection of 40 essays and memoirs. Not a science book for scientists nor a nature book for naturalists, it is offered to everyone who shares a love of nature and cares about planetary health.
“What a great book. I would recommend it to all my friends. Roger is a wonderful storyteller and I am anxious for his next book.” Sharon J. Plocher (Amazon)

Howard & Georgeanna is the autobiography of Howard W. Jones, Jr , (1910-2015), one of the most charismatic doctors of his generation: from WWII battlefields to Johns Hopkins surgeon to IVF pioneer. After reaching 100 years old, Howard wrote the story of his life and working with his distinguished wife, Georgeanna Seegar.
“His publication list contained 19 papers and three books, all published after the age of 100.” Edward E. Wallach, Johns Hopkins University.
“A wonderful account…” Audra Mitchell

A Surgeon’s Story is the life of the visionary New York surgeon Robert Tuttle Morris (1857-1945). Blessed with abundant energy and sagacity, he was a gifted writer and dedicated naturalist. This is an updated edition of the 1935 classic with unpublished chapters.
“A man who had the courage to be an iconoclast for the purpose of safeguarding humanity.” New York Times (1935)
“This is not a textbook but an arresting account of medicine and society in the not too distant past.” Howard W. Jones, Jr

In Vitro Fertilization Comes to America is told by a pioneer. The scourge of infertility defeated doctors down the ages. Soon after a breakthrough with IVF by Edwards & Steptoe in England, the Drs. Joneses launched the first IVF program in America in their retirement.
“An inspirational book from one of the giants of medicine in the last century. At the age of 104, Dr. Jones writes the story of the beginning of in vitro fertilization.” Suheil Muasher, Johns Hopkins University.

Walter Heape, F.R.S. In this biography of Walter Heape (1855-1929), the late Harvard scientist John Biggers describes how the businessman who never earned a degree became the first reproductive biologist and worked alongside several of the greatest scientists of the late Victorian Age.

Appalachian Poet. Bertie Jane Cutlip (1924-2021) wrote over 100 poems expressing her love of family, community, and the beauty of her home state in Appalachia. She knew them all by heart into her 80s, and you can watch her reciting four favorite poems in her mobile home in a West Virginia hollow on YouTube.
“Beautiful poetry” Kelly (Amazon)

Various Verses is a short anthology compiled posthumously for Gordon Burness (1928-2015). He lived quietly in London, leaving no large footprint in history, yet a great amateur, he left poems and other artistic endeavors to celebrate the outdoors and quirks of human nature.

Coming sometime

Another series of essays about science and nature