The Rookwood Family Papers edited by Francis Young (Boydell Press, £25). The Rookwoods of Coldham Hall had a terrible track record when it came to choosing political causes. Family members were involved in the Gunpowder Plot, supported the Royalists in the Civil War, and revisited the risky path of regicide during the reign of William III. Yet they managed to emerge as one of Suffolk’s wealthiest Catholic families. We encounter grumbles about recusancy fines and wills, and stunningly detailed accounts of family possessions and reading habits. A treasure trove for historians.

The Fall of the House of Wilde by Emer O’Sullivan (Bloomsbury, £25). The author depicts the family of Oscar Wilde in the style of a novel by Edgar Allan Poe. Thus Oscar’s father’s brilliant successes were followed by the drunken excesses of his elder son, Willie, the poverty and despair of his widow, Jane, and the very public ruin of his younger son. This complex cautionary tale is marred by its disjointed narrative and too great attention to unnecessary detail. Oscar is shown as a brilliant and decadent dandy, rather than a serious artist brought down by his own folly.