Author: Christina Hardyment Publisher: Bodleian Library ISBN: 9781851244508 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Thames aficionado Robert Gibbings once wrote that 'the quiet of an age-old river is like the slow turning of the pages of a well-loved book'. Writing the Thames tells a much-loved river's story through the remarkable prose, poetry and illustration that it has inspired. In eight themed chapters it features historical events such as Julius Caesar's crossing in 55 BCE and Elizabeth I's stand against the Spanish at Tilbury, explorations of topographers who mapped, drew and painted the river and the many congenial riverside retreats for authors ranging from Francis Bacon, Thomas More and Alexander Pope to Thomas Love Peacock, William Morris and Henry James. A chapter on messing about in boats tells the story of William Hogarth's impulsive five-day river trip with four inebriated friends and features satirical novels making fun of frenetic rowers (Zuleika Dobson) and young London men-about-town on camping holidays (Three Men in a Boat). The river has also inspired some of the best children's literature (The Wind in the Willows) and naturalists such as Richard Jeffries and C.J. Cornish (A Naturalist on the Thames) have recorded the richness of its wildlife. But there are also dark undercurrents: Charles Dickens's use of its waters as a symbol of death, Sax Rohmer's Limehouse villain Dr Fu Manchu, and the many fictional criminals who dispose of corpses in its sinister depths in detective novels ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Inspector Morse. Beautifully illustrated, this book celebrates the writers who have helped to make England's greatest river an enduring legend.
Author: Richard Mayon-White Publisher: A&C Black ISBN: 1408181142 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 240
Book Description
The River Thames is an often undiscovered haven of stunning scenery, wonderful wildlife and brilliant natural beauty. As well as the famous stretches passing through our biggest cities and towns, there is a hidden side to the river - wild and natural, but surprisingly accessible. This guidebook, compiled by the two major Thames charities, contains a wealth of information on over 150 of the best places to explore the real Thames wilderness, along with enjoyable walks and activities along its course. Organised geographically, the book gives information on the history and character of each stretch of the river and the featured sites within it, travelling from source to sea. Illustrated with maps and photos, the text highlights which plants and wildlife to watch out for, activities you can do, how to get there and nearby moorings, cycle paths and car parks. Each section features a circular walk, tying together several of the sites and accompanied by an enchanting hand-drawn map. An essential source of ideas for days out and handy for on the go, Exploring the Thames Wilderness opens up the beauty of the Thames to everyone.
Author: Lara Maiklem Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 140888920X Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 347
Book Description
_______________ WINNER OF THE INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR NON-FICTION THE TOP 2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR _______________ Mudlark (/'mAdla;k/) noun A person who scavenges for usable debris in the mud of a river or harbour Lara Maiklem has scoured the banks of the Thames for over fifteen years, in pursuit of the objects that the river unearths: from Neolithic flints to Roman hair pins, medieval buckles to Tudor buttons, Georgian clay pipes to Victorian toys. These objects tell her about London and its lost ways of life. Moving from the river's tidal origins in the west of the city to the point where it meets the sea in the east, Mudlarking is a search for urban solitude and history on the River Thames, which Lara calls the longest archaeological site in England. As she has discovered, it is often the tiniest objects that tell the greatest stories. _______________ 'Enchanting' - Sunday Times 'Driven by curiosity, freighted with mystery and tempered by chance, wonders gleam from every page' - Melissa Harrison 'Brilliant. No one has looked at these odd corners since Sherlock Holmes' - Sunday Telegraph 'The very best books that deal with the past are love letters to their subject, and the very best of those are about subjects that love their authors in return. Such books are very rare, but this is one' - Ian Mortimer 'Fascinating. There is nothing that Maiklem does not know about the history of the river or the thingyness of things' - Guardian 'A treasure. One of the best books I've read in years' - Tracy Borman
Author: Gilda Williams Publisher: Thames & Hudson ISBN: 0500772177 Category : Art Languages : en Pages : 228
Book Description
An essential handbook for students and professionals on writing eloquently, accurately, and originally about contemporary art How to Write About Contemporary Art is the definitive guide to writing engagingly about the art of our time. Invaluable for students, arts professionals and other aspiring writers, the book first navigates readers through the key elements of style and content, from the aims and structure of a piece to its tone and language. Brimming with practical tips that range across the complete spectrum of art-writing, the second part of the book is organized around its specific forms, including academic essays; press releases and news articles; texts for auction and exhibition catalogues, gallery guides and wall labels; op-ed journalism and exhibition reviews; and writing for websites and blogs. In counseling the reader against common pitfalls—such as jargon and poor structure—Gilda Williams points instead to the power of close looking and research, showing how to deploy language effectively; how to develop new ideas; and how to construct compelling texts. More than 30 illustrations throughout support closely analysed case studies of the best writing, in Source Texts by 64 authors, including Claire Bishop, Thomas Crow, T.J. Demos, Okwui Enwezor, Dave Hickey, John Kelsey, Chris Kraus, Rosalind Krauss, Stuart Morgan, Hito Steyerl, and Adam Szymczyk. Supplemented by a general bibliography, advice on the use and misuse of grammar, and tips on how to construct your own contemporary art library, How to Write About Contemporary Art is the essential handbook for all those interested in communicating about the art of today.
Author: Lara Maiklem Publisher: Liveright Publishing ISBN: 163149497X Category : History Languages : en Pages : 239
Book Description
“Engrossing . . . evokes the subculture of the ‘mudlarks,’ who scour the banks for fragments of London’s past.”—The New Yorker The international bestseller that mesmerizingly charts quixotic journeys through London’s past, Mudlark thrills Anglophiles and history lovers alike. Long heralded as a city treasure herself, beloved “Mudlark” Lara Maiklem tirelessly treks along the Thames’ muddy shores, unearthing a myriad of artifacts and their stories—from Roman hairpins and perfectly preserved Tudor shoes to the clay pipes that were smoked in riverside taverns. Seamlessly interweaving reflections from her own life with meditations on the art of wandering, Maiklem ultimately delivers a treatise “as deep and as rich as the Thames and its treasures” (Stanley Tucci).
Author: Peter Ackroyd Publisher: National Geographic Books ISBN: 0099422557 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Just as Peter Ackroyd's bestselling London is the biography of the city, Thames: Sacred River is the biography of the river, from sea to source. Exploring its history from prehistoric times to the present day, the reader is drawn into an extraordinary world, learning about the fishes that swim in the river and the boats that ply its surface; about floods and tides; hauntings and suicides; miasmas and malaria; locks, weirs and embankments; bridges, docks and palaces. Peter Ackroyd has a genius for digging out the most surprising and entertaining details, and for writing about them in the most magisterial prose; the result is a wonderfully readable and captivating guide to this extraordinary river and the towns and villages which line it.
Author: Gillian Tindall Publisher: Random House ISBN: 1446496074 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 290
Book Description
Just across the River Thames from St Paul’s Cathedral stands an old and elegant house. Over the course of almost 450 years the dwelling on this site has witnessed many changes. From its windows, people have watched the ferrymen carry Londoners to and from Shakespeare’s Globe; they have gazed on the Great Fire; they have seen the countrified lanes of London’s marshy south bank give way to a network of wharves, workshops and tenements – and then seen these, too, become dust and empty air. Rich with anecdote and colour, this fascinating book breathes life into the forgotten inhabitants of the house – the prosperous traders; an early film star; even some of London’s numberless poor. In so doing it makes them stand for legions of others and for a whole world that we have lost through hundreds of years of London’s history.
Author: Phoebe Clapham Publisher: Aurum ISBN: 1781318190 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 160
Book Description
A completely new Trail Guide dedicated to the London section of the Thames Path from Hampton Court to the Thames Barrier. Until now, Aurum’s popular one-volume Thames Path guide has had all too little room to cover the endlessly rich array of sights and history along its London section – something to look at literally every yard of the way. Now, Aurum publishes a completely new walker’s guide just to the London Thames, laid out to its new full-colour Trail Guide design, and including the extension to Crayford . Here is all the history along the river from the Mesolithic Period timber piles near Vauxhall Bridge to the new Shard skyscraper shooting skywards at London Bridge. It covers all the folklore from the famous frost fairs to the much-lamented beach near Tower Bridge, not forgetting the poignant recent visit of a large whale to the centre of London. The Thames winds all the way through London’s history and culture, from Henry VIII’s Hampton Court to the chequered fate of the Dome/O2: the London resident as much as the visiting tourist will find in this guide something new every step of the way.
Author: Christina Hardyment
Author: Richard Mayon-White
Author: Lara Maiklem
Author: Gilda Williams
Author: Karen Gocsik
Author: Lara Maiklem
Author: Peter Ackroyd
Author: Gillian Tindall
Author: Robert Gibbings
Author: Phoebe Clapham