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The WRECKERS: A story of killing seas, false lights and plundered ships.

The WRECKERS: A story of killing seas, false lights and plundered ships.

The WRECKERS: A story of killing seas, false lights and plundered ships.
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The WRECKERS: A story of killing seas, false lights and plundered ships.

by BATHURST, BELLA:

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
FINE./FINE.
ISBN 10
0007170327
ISBN 13
9780007170326
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About This Item

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Complete number line 1.] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,matt, monochrome photographic illustrated front panel+spine of dw/dj with dark brown+red lettering; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top edges very lightly toned,but along with the fore-edges,generally bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners, appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain dark blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,block gilt letters to spine/ backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,vii-xxivpp+1-326pp [paginated] includes list of illustrations, acknowledgements,author's introduction,8 chapters and an epilogue, 16pp contemporary b/w+colour photographs in 1 block,between pp134/5,assorted b/w maps interspersed throughout the text and the book,a bibliography and an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,and a contents list/table.
From the bestselling author of 'The Lighthouse Stevensons',a gripping history of the drama and danger of wrecking since the 18th-century - and the often grisly ingenuity of British wreckers,scavengers of the sea.A fine wreck has always represented sport,pleasure,treasure,and in many cases,the difference between living well and just getting by. The Cornish were supposedly so ferocious that notices of shipwrecks were given out during morning service by the minister,whilst the congregation concocted elaborate theological justifications for drowning the survivors.Treeless islanders relied on the harvest of storms to furnish themselves with rafters,boat hulls,fence-posts and floors.In other places,false lights were set up with grisly ingenuity along the coast to lure boats to destruction.With romance,insight and dry wit,Bella Bathurst traces the history of wrecking,looting and salvaging in the British Isles since the 18th-century and leading up to the present day.'For a fully-laden general cargo to run to ground in an accessible position is more or less like having Selfridges crash-land in your back garden,'she writes,'a Selfridges with the prices removed.' Far from being a black-and-white crime,wrecking is often seen as opaque by its practitioners - the divisions between theft and recovery are small.No successful legal prosecution has ever been brought; the RNLI was founded by wreckers - even today lifeboat crews maintain the right to claim salvage.In settings ranging from the eerily perambulatory Goodwin Sands to the wreck-strewn waters off the coast of Durham, these murky tales of resourcefulness and quick-witted opportunism open a beguiling vista of life at the rough edges of our land and legality.From all around Britain,Bathurst has uncovered the secret history of ships and shipwreck victims,from shoreline orgies so dionysian that few participants survived until morning to crofts fitted with silver candelabra,and from coastlines rigged like stage sets to the strange tale of Britain's Royal Fish. Spanning three hundred years of history,'The Wreckers' examines the myths,realities,and superstitions of shipwrecks,and uncovers the darker side of life on our island shores.
Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/value of this item for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.



Synopsis

Bella Bathurst's first book, the acclaimed The Lighthouse Stevensons,told the story of Scottish lighthouse construction by the ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson. Now she returns to the sea to search out the darker side of those lights, detailing the secret history of shipwrecks and the predatory scavengers who live off the spoils. Even today, Britain's coastline remains a dangerous place. An island soaked by four separate seas, with shifting sand banks to the east, veiled reefs to the west, powerful currents above, and the world's busiest shipping channel below, the country's offshore waters are strewn with shipwrecks. For villagers scratching out an existence along Britain's shores, those wrecks have been more than simply an act of God; in many cases, they have been the difference between living well and just getting by. Though Daphne Du Maurier made Cornwall Britain's most notorious region for wrecking, many other coastal communities regarded the "sea's bounty" as an impromptu way of providing themselves with everything from grapefruits to grand pianos. Some plunderers were held to be so skilled that they could strip a ship from stem to stern before the Coast Guard had even left port, some were rumored to lure ships onto the rocks with false lights, and some simply waited for winter gales to do their work. From all around Britain, Bathurst has uncovered the hidden history of ships and shipwreck victims, from shoreline orgies so Dionysian that few participants survived the morning to humble homes fitted with silver candelabra, from coastlines rigged like stage sets to villages where everyone owns identical tennis shoes. Spanning three hundred years of history, The Wreckers examines the myths, the realities, and the superstitions of shipwrecks and uncovers the darker side of life on Britain's shores.

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Details

Bookseller
R. J. A. PAXTON-DENNY. GB (GB)
Bookseller's Inventory #
rja796118
Title
The WRECKERS: A story of killing seas, false lights and plundered ships.
Author
BATHURST, BELLA:
Illustrator
illus with contemporary b/w+colour photographs and b/w maps.
Book Condition
Used - FINE.
Jacket Condition
FINE.
Quantity Available
1
Edition
UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10
0007170327
ISBN 13
9780007170326
Publisher
LONDON.HarperCollinsPublishers,2005.
Place of Publication
London
This edition first published
January 2005
Keywords
q52.NAUTICAL.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.ISBN 0007170327.Britain_shipwreckers_shipwreck victims_looting_salvage_plunder.Britain_maritime_nautical history.Goodwin Sands_Scilly Isles_Cornwall_wreckers.Books new,used,signed,rare.
Bookseller catalogs
NAUTICAL;

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About R. J. A. PAXTON-DENNY.

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