Genealogy enthusiast Rosemary Wenzerul has spent the past 20 years researching her family roots. She is now helping others to do the same with the publication of her new book.

Titled Tracing Your Jewish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians (Pen and Sword), it calls itself a comprehensive guide for those wanting to trace their Jewish ancestors. It includes detailed information about the Jewish holdings of various resource centres throughout the UK.

A council member of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, Mrs Wenzerul, 62, tells People: "Some call genealogy merely a pastime, but I think of it as a legacy which this generation can provide for posterity - and the best thing about it is that you don't necessarily have to pore over dusty archives.

The St Albans United Synagogue administrator adds: "These days there is so much information available online, as well as in the documents and photographs you have in your own home."

She started digging into her family's history back in 1984. Her success with her own researches - she has traced both her English and Dutch forebears back as far as 1750 - led to her avid involvement with the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain. She lives in St Albans with her husband Derek, chair of the St Albans Synagogue in Hertfordshire.