The Sea Kingdoms: The History of Celtic Britain and Ireland - Softcover

Moffat, Alistair

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006532438 ISBN 13: 9780006532439

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2002

Synopsis

A journey from Shetland to Cornwall reveals – gloriously – the nature and history of the Celts

‘I have travelled south from Stornoway through all the Hebrides to Ulster, to Galloway, to the Isle of Man, southern and western Ireland. I can report that there is such a place as Celtic Britain, that it shares a common culture, an intimately related history and strikingly similar geography. The story of Celtic Britain can be found in these places.’

The Sea Kingdoms is a narrative history based on a journey from Shetland, down the west coast of Scotland taking in the Isle of Man and the Outer Hebrides, across to Ireland, back to Anglesey and the west Welsh coast, back to Ireland again and finally Cornwall. The heart of the book is the journey from which Moffat strays into the oral histories, legends and known events of the Celts and their past. Its narrative soaked in legend and myth and sensuality, tragedy and gore. In Moffat’s masterful hands,all these apparently disparate stories, fragments of history and myth come together to give the most powerful representation yet of the race who have repeatedly changed history as we know it.

Ranging between pre-history and the present, with much inbetween – The Sea Kingdoms tells the story of a people, stretched down 1,000 miles of coastline that has to be Britain’s richest and most ancient. It also tells the story of the sea itself, which has more than anything shaped the Celtic character.

About this title

About the Author

Alistair Moffat was responsible for turning a rough, ragbag and forgettable part of the Edinburgh Festival into the Fringe we know today. It was he who brought the comics – starting with Rowan Atkinson – and the world-wide fame and notoriety which followed. Then he went into TV and ended up Managing Director of Scottish Television, a job he left recently to concentrate on individual writing and television projects. His first book, published by Weidenfeld, Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms, sold over 17,000 copies. This is his second. He is an expert in Scottish Gaelic and history.

From the Back Cover

‘I have travelled south from Stornoway through all the Hebrides to Ulster, to Galloway, to the Isle of Man, southern and western Ireland. I can report that there is such a place as Celtic Britain, that it shares a common culture, an intimately related history and strikingly similar geography. The story of Celtic Britain can be found in these places.’

The Sea Kingdoms is a narrative history based on a journey from Shetland, down the west coast of Scotland taking in the Isle of Man and the Outer Hebrides, across to Ireland, back to Anglesey and the west Welsh coast, back to Ireland again and finally Cornwall. The heart of the book is the journey from which Moffat strays into the oral histories, legends and known events of the Celts and their past. Its narrative soaked in legend and myth and sensuality, tragedy and gore. In Moffat’s masterful hands,all these apparently disparate stories, fragments of history and myth come together to give the most powerful representation yet of the race who have repeatedly changed history as we know it.

Ranging between pre-history and the present, with much inbetween – The Sea Kingdoms tells the story of a people, stretched down 1,000 miles of coastline that has to be Britain’s richest and most ancient. It also tells the story of the sea itself, which has more than anything shaped the Celtic character.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0006532438
• ISBN 13: 9780006532439
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336