Estuary: Out from London to the Sea - Softcover

Lichtenstein, Rachel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141018534 ISBN 13: 9780141018539

Publisher: Penguin, 2017

Synopsis

LONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2017

A hauntingly beautiful social history of the Thames Estuary, from the author of On Brick Lane

Out at the eastern edge of England, between land and ocean, you will find beautiful, haunted salt marshes, coastal shallows and wide-open skies: the Thames Estuary. The estuary is an ancient gateway to England, a passage for numberless travellers in and out of London. And for generations, the people of Kent and Essex have lived and worked on the Estuary, learning its waters, losing loved ones to its deeps. Their heritage is a proud but never an easy one. In the face of a world changing around them, they endure.

Rachel Lichtenstein spent five years exploring this unique community and recording its extraordinary chorus of voices, present and past. From mud larkers and fishermen to radio pirates and champion racers, from buried princesses to unexploded bombs, Estuary is a celebration of a haunting & profoundly British place.

About this title

Review:

Publisher's description. An immersive journey through the weird and haunting spaces of the Thames Estuary. Rachel Lichtenstein presents an extraordinary chorus of voices, from mudlarkers and fishermen to radio pirates and champion racers, capturing the incredibly diverse community of people who live and work in this ancient, wild and mesmerising place. (Penguin)

Rachel Lichtenstein's electrifying exploration of the estuary (Spectator)

The Thames Estuary changes constantly. How do you make such a landscape comprehensible, and how do you render it vividly for the reader? Lichtenstein's outstanding book shows how it should be done. (Irish Times)

Immersive, engrossing, evocative (The Lady)

From the Back Cover:

'Lichtenstein restores edgy pride and celebrates muddy beauty' Blake Morrison, Guardian

The Thames Estuary is both a waterway and an edgeland of civilisation. Over centuries it has been swept back and forth by tides of history, commerce, tradition, piracy, war, art and, of course, the weather and currents which make it a danger to the innocent and experienced alike. Inspired by its eerie beauty, Rachel Lichtenstein offers a powerful and moving odyssey through this haunting landscape - and tells the story of the people who have chosen to work, live, and love on and beside the endlessly restless waters they dare to call home.

'Lichtenstein is a cultural archaeologist, digging up forgotten stories' Daily Telegraph

'Rich in eerie poetry... Glittering rivulets and wildlife-teeming marshlands... A working river with the most extraordinary depth of history' Spectator

'Lichtenstein's engrossing study brings her into contact with the murky history of these unquiet waters. In this immersive account, she does it evocative justice' Lady

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0141018534
• ISBN 13: 9780141018539
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336