Wicked Wales: The Appalling Victorians - Softcover

Stevens, Catrin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1848517408 ISBN 13: 9781848517400

Publisher: Pont Books@Lolfa, 2013

Synopsis

The Victorians as they've never been seen before! History with a twist! The Appalling Victorians is the latest title in the popular and original Wicked Wales series. The book will amuse and inform combining factual accuracy and wicked humour. Do you know: why Queen Victoria wore black all the time and always looked so miserable? why villagers in Wales used a horse's skull to entertain their neighbours? why schools in Wales were so very ych-a-fi? You'll find the answers - and much, much more - in The Appalling Victorians. Learn about desperate disasters, scurrilous sandals and rip-roaring riots. Meet larger-than-life characters: quarrelsome quarry owners, irksome ironmasters, saintly strikers, riotous rebels, and crafty crooks. Find out about their colourful crimes and painful punishments.

About this title

Review:

If youre looking for a well-researched and lively book about the Victorian era, this is the one for you, whether youre nine or ninety! History may be considered boring by some, however, like others in the series, The Appalling Victorians is designed to fire interest and enthusiasm through well-researched information, data and stories from a Welsh and often wry perspective calculated to engage and amuse as well as to inform. By careful selection and varied yet direct style Catrin Stevens grabs the attention of her readership with just the right mixture of fact and spin. Schools, crime and punishment, coal and slate, poverty, religion and cultural heritage are among some topics covered. The material is presented in varied formats lists, recipes, poems and games to name but a few with comical yet perceptive illustrations by the inimitable Graham Howells. Not only do these break up the text, they fill gaps, provide jokes and clarification, and do far more than complement the rich text. The combination shows writer and illustrator seamlessly in partnership, and the result is a book whose design, manageable sections and various puzzle-book features, use of different fonts and so on make it ideal for a range of readers. A joke, pun, humorous twist or cartoon often serves to highlight some pretty grim and gruesome practices and events or draw attention to comparisons and contrasts with life today, bringing the Victorian era alive for 21st-century youngsters and anyone else looking for a different, lighter yet reliable approach to history and heritage. This book, which is also available in Welsh, is an ideal addition to the Key Stage 2 library at school and at home, being both educational and highly readable, whether it is used to dip into or to read from cover to cover, enjoying the quips and quizzes or appreciating the plentiful graphics. M. Lorna Herbert Egan It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddior adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council

About the Author:

Catrin Stevens is a prolific author, having written many books for both adults and children. She is also a recognised authority on Welsh history, traits and traditions, having worked at St Fagans National History Museum, and also as a History Lecturer in Trinity College, Carmarthen. She lives in Loughor, near Swansea.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pont Books@Lolfa
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1848517408
• ISBN 13: 9781848517400
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: Howells Graham