What do the sinking of the Bismarck, the Monmouth Rebellion, artificial stone statues, the Battle of Algiers, revolt in Maryland, rotten borough corruption, temperance agitation, eccentric millionaires, the Victorian Poor laws, Peak Frean biscuits, boll weevil control, bell ringing, theatre criticism, pregnant dairymaids, suicidal poets, African shellfish, corrupt and treacherous nobles, lavish goldfields funerals, vagrant ex-publicans, escaped lunatics, and the doping of racehorses have in common? People called Coad or Coode were involved, quietly doing their jobs. This book tells the story of the ancient surname of Code and how a network of descendants unravelled the descent of unrelated Coads and their Coode cousins, who have lived as neighbours wherever the Cornish congregated. It has a comprehensive genealogy and geography of the 5000 or so people of West Country descent who have borne the name up till 1911. It gives brief biographies of thirty or so eminent or eccentric individuals.