the House of Commons and in 1809 Trelawny's father also became a Member of the British Parliament. As a child, he was often told of the long history and adventures of his ancestors in the Trelawny family. As an adult, he was proud of having such prestigious ancestors. The recorded history of his family dated back to the reign of Edward the Confessor and included many prominent citizens. Edward had five siblings who survived to adulthood and several who died as children. Edward shared a disdain for his father with his siblings. Though he hated his father, Edward was close with his mother. His mother worked hard to find wealthy husbands for her daughters, to the extent that her actions were satirised by some. In addition, many people found her to be a disagreeable person as she grew older. Trelawny's parents regarded their children as potential sinners and frequently used harsh measures to try to instill a sense of discipline in them. He resented being treated in this manner. Edward only had one brother, Harry Trelawny. They were close in age and were close friends during their childhood. Harry was quiet and reserved, which sharply contrasted with Edward's extroverted and confrontational personality. As an adult, Edward Trelawny often told stories about his childhood that focused on his early willingness to take confrontational positions and conceal things from others. One often used story described the time that he killed a vicious raven which had belonged to his father. He cited this event as an example of his habit of accepting offences up to a certain point before later taking revenge as the offences mounted. He later described the raven incident in his autobiography, Adventures of a Younger Son. In the book he described the fight with the raven as the "most awful duel" that he ever had. Education At the age of eight Charles Brereton decided to send Edward to live at the Seyer school, which was located two miles from their home in Bristol at that time. Trelawny later claimed that his father had resisted sending him to the school for some time due to its cost, but decided to enroll him after he caught him stealing apples from an orchard in the back yard. Trelawny hated the school and was angry at his father for sending him there. He often complained that the school served terrible food and subjected