A Secret Son: New Title by Joe Silmon Traces His Disinherited Black Grandfather's Possible Noble Ancestry

MANCHESTER, England, June 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Newcastle-born, half-Spanish, Jazzman, linguist and British author, Joe Silmon-Monerri ("Joe Silmon"), spent thirty years compiling "THE SECRET LIFE OF THE EARL ST. MAUR (1835-1869)". Its American "publisher" sold only to authors. Unobtainable, now 'rare', revamped, volume 1 of three---"A SECRET SON" published by Silmon-Monerri Books, Manchester, was printed by CreateSpace/Amazon, 11^thJune 2016. ISBN: 9780993518218. Enthralling, revealing, deeply educational, it is the only encyclopaedic biography of this earl. Sir John Colville, Brian Masters and Lady Margaret Graubard refer to him generously - in passing.

A SECRET SONwith foreword by Lord Timothy Bentinck, 12^th Earl of Portland, explores whether the Earl St. Maur's 'servant' Mohamed was in fact his eldest offspring. Investigated by Mohamed's grandson, the series traces the pro-military and amorous meanderings of heroic, code-breaking, 007-style balloonist Earl St. Maur  ̶  son of the 12^th  Duke of Somerset. Rather than ducal and parliamentary duties, he chose to fight in wars in Persia, India and Italy.

Aristocrats perambulate alongside people of illegitimate origins, including the author's Moroccan grandfather. 2015 Autosomal DNA tests proved unreliable. Nor did two proven St. Maur co-testers show Seymour or St. Maur matches. Mixed race Mohamed, aged 12, from a mid-1850s liaison, immigrated as the Earl's personal servant in 1868. Allegedly the first of three illegitimates, he became a Christian; the Earl, who refuted Christian marriage, embraced Islam.

Rejected by titled ladies, St. Maur's torrid love affair with gypsy maid-turned-"Lady", Rosina Swan, produced two recognised illegitimate St. Maurs - Ruth in Tangier and British-born Harold. Harold petitioned the dukedom in 1923-25 but was unable to prove his parents' marriage, allegedly witnessed by a Dutch hotelier in Torquay. Close to the Pankhursts, Keir Hardie and George Bernard Shaw, as Mrs Cavendish-Bentinck, Ruth recounted their romantic tale, inspiring Shaw's "Pygmalion" (play, 1913; book, 1916) and the film "My Fair Lady". A Suffragist, heroic feminist, creator of Fabian Society Manifesto tracts, Ruth founded the Cavendish-Bentinck Library in London, for education-starved women.

Heraldry, Genealogy, Medieval French and British History are rewritten by Silmon, in an illustrated appendix, expanded in volume 2. He solves surname controversies dating to 1066. St. Maurs, Ste. Maures and Seymours are still labelled "Seymours". All evolved separately, with different arms. Heralds, Historians and Latinists missed significant mistakes. Silmon secured documentary proof in France and Britain, thus solving the mystery forever.

For more information, visit http://www.sil4books.co.uk

Mr Joe Silmon-Monerri

SOURCE Office of Joe Silmon