The Historic Thames: A Portrait of England's Greatest River - Softcover

Belloc, Hilaire

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845117123 ISBN 13: 9781845117122

Publisher: I.B. Tauris, 2008

Synopsis

The Thames lies at the very heart of London and the south of England--both physically and metaphorically--and this engaging and personal portrait offers a perfect introduction to the river’s many charms.

Hilaire Belloc is justly famous for his wonderful and mischievous Cautionary Tales which in recent years have over-shadowed his other significant achievements as a writer. The Historic Thames redresses this balance, offering a personal and warm view of the river Thames in the early twentieth century.

Following the Thames two hundred miles upriver through London to its Cotswold source, Belloc skilfully blends historical observations and personal commentary through his distinctive and elegant style. He draws revealing comparisons between the Thames and the Rhine, the Seine and other important European waterways to highlight the Thames’s unique significance within British life. Revealing as much about the countryside, English identity and the author himself as about its history, The Historic Thames presents a romantic yet honest portrait of Britain’s greatest river.

A joy for anyone interested in travel, memoir, geography and history, Hilaire Belloc’s The Historic Thames demonstrates the mighty river’s contribution to the wider history of Great Britain.

About this title

About the Author

Hilaire Belloc was born in 1870 in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France, and raised in England. Educated in Birmingham before voluntarily serving his military term of service in France, Belloc then returned to England to study History at Baliol College, Oxford, where he graduated with a First class degree.

Writing on everything from poetry to war to travel, Belloc has been called one of the Big Four of Edwardian Letters, along with H.G.Wells, George Bernard Shaw, and G. K. Chesterton, all of whom debated each other into the 1930s. Belloc was closely associated with Chesterton, and Shaw coined the term Chesterbelloc for their partnership. A deeply religious Catholic, Belloc wrote considerably about his faith, and throughout his literary career he was concerned with the problems of social reform. He was a political activist and an MP for Salford from 1906 to 1910 for the Liberal party, and his written non-fiction work criticized both capitalism and aspects of socialism. He died in 1953.

Edition details

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1845117123
• ISBN 13: 9781845117122
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 192