Volume VIII of this series by V. L. Skinner consists of abstracts of the records for the period 1697 to 1700. Mr. Skinner has combed through administration, bond, will, inventory, administration account, and final balance entries to produce this collection. The abstracts are arranged chronologically by court session. For the most part, the transcriptions state the names of the principals (testators, heirs, witnesses, administrators, and so forth) as well as details of bequests, names of slaves, appraisers, and more. Mr. Skinner notes that with the contents of Volume VIII, the Prerogative...

The Prerogative Court was the focal point for probate in colonial Maryland. A judge and various clerks staffed the court. All matters of probate went directly to the Prerogative Court, which was located in Annapolis, Maryland's colonial capital. Eventually, administration of probate was delegated to the several county courts; however, many documents related to probate continued to be filed at the Prerogative Court and not in the corresponding county. It should be noted that the Prerogative Court was also the colony's court for equity cases-resolution of disputes over the settlement and...

Among the many writers who lent their talents to the creation of hard-boiled detective fiction, few have approached it from a more original perspective than Chester Himes. A former criminal himself, Himes brought to the writing of detective fiction the perspective of the black man. Himes made his debut with the brilliant For Love of Imabelle, for which he was awarded the coveted Grand Prix de la Litterature Policiere.
Two Guns from Harlem probes Himes s early life and career for the roots of this series and for its heroes, Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones. Skinner...