The Thames

By Schneer, Jonathan

Publishers Summary:
The Thames, England’s greatest river—for centuries an aid to trade, a stalwart of national defense, a stage for some of England’s greatest historical events, an inspiration to some of England’s best poets and artists, a challenge to engineers. Yet while there is a constancy in the history of the river, there is also change. The Thames charts the diverse meanings of the river over the course of millennia, from prehistoric to modern times. From the elephants on the bank of the prehistoric river to Caesar’s expeditionary force; from King Alfred’s battleships to the signing of Magna Carta; from the river’s role in both the coronation and execution of Anne Boleyn to seventeenth-century frost fairs and the first performance of Handel’s ‘Water Music’; from Turner’s view of the river as arcadia through its bombardment during the Blitz, The Thames provides an intimate portrait of the waterway at the heart of English history. Blending elegant prose with historical detail, this exceptional book superbly brings to life the river Winston Churchill once vividly described as “a golden thread in the national tapestry.”

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ISBN
978-0-30010-786-9
Publisher
Yale University Press


REVIEWS

Library Journal

Reviewed on April 15, 2005

The author of the acclaimed London 1900 as well as earlier works on significant figures in British labor history, Schneer has written a compelling history of the river Thames, which meanders through southern Britain. The river has had huge impact on the lives of royalty and lesser folk living on its banks. To the east, the ebb tides determined the fates of many famous Britons (among them Sir Walt...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

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