ABSTRACT
At least for a little while a er May 1767, omas Dunckerley must have felt like Jack Horner in the nursery rhyme. Eventually one tires of plums, but in the beginning a Christmas plum is a very ne thing. Before we see what Dunckerley did with his little share of the royal bounty, let us consider those he le behind. e actual story of his progenitors is as respectable as any omas Dunckerley could have created for himself, but decidedly less aristocratic. Because Dunckerley chose a fairly straightforward chronological plot for his ction, the accepted narrative will serve as our touchstone for an exploration of Bolnest and Dunckerley families, back into the London of the seventeenth century.
