David St John Thomas is the author of many books, including a bestselling series chronicling the four big railway companies. He is the founder of the publishing house David & Charles, which he ran for 30 years.
Remote Britain
Landscape, people and books
Remote Britain relishes the ever-changing great landscapes of this fascinating island and the people who grow out of them. And the constant surprises. Who realises how sharp are the contrasts to be found within the Isles of Scilly or the Isle of Wight, how remote it is possible to feel in Essex, or how extraordinary is ‘Yorkshire’s teardrop’, Spurn Point, way out in the Humber estuary?
As in his acclaimed Journey Through Britain to which this is a worthy successor, Mr Thomas finds remains of railways and even active steam trains in the most unlikely of places, stays in hotels to fall in love with or to hate, and is never short of people to express their own views, as he does colourfully himself in chapters such as In the Footsteps of the Queen Mother.
Here is a book to dip into, savour and refer to many times.
SPECIFICATIONS: Hardback | 234 x 153 mm | 536 Pages + 16 Pages of Colour Photographs |
Remote Britain relishes the ever-changing great landscapes of this fascinating island and the people who grow out of them. And the constant surprises. Who realises how sharp are the contrasts to be found within the Isles of Scilly or the Isle of Wight, how remote it is possible to feel in Essex, or how extraordinary is ‘Yorkshire’s teardrop’, Spurn Point, way out in the Humber estuary?
As in his acclaimed Journey Through Britain to which this is a worthy successor, Mr Thomas finds remains of railways and even active steam trains in the most unlikely of places, stays in hotels to fall in love with or to hate, and is never short of people to express their own views, as he does colourfully himself in chapters such as In the Footsteps of the Queen Mother.
Here is a book to dip into, savour and refer to many times.
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Journey Through Britain: Landscape, People, Books
In his ‘thinking traveller’s tour’, David St John Thomas journeys by rail and ‘Little Car’ around Britain, exploring the fascinating and diverse character of Britain today. He reflects on Britain, Britishness, the British people and how they have changed, not always for the worse, over the fifty-odd years he has known them as an author and a publisher.
Taking in places as various as beaches, mountain moors, industrial and early Christian sites, great hotels, art galleries, canals and cycleways, meeting people- famous ones, friends, gardeners, railwaymen, craftsmen, bus conductors- who enrich his journey with their stories and observations, and drawing on literature and history, he discovers the true heartbeat of the country. The result is a narrative that surprises, amuses and engages, as well as offering a treasure trove of facts, anecdotes and new perspectives on this extraordinary nation.
SPECIFICATIONS: Hardback/Paperback | 240 x 160mm / 198 x 126 mm | 700 Pages |
Railway Season
Celebrate the days when trains were trains, individual expresses had their own character, serving their passengers in style in the restaurant car, and connecting services ran over picturesque branch lines that were a very part of the countryside they served. Railway Season captures all our railway yesterdays with panache.
This is indeed a railway book like no other, a portfolio of word portraits by an enthusiast who knows his subject intimately and is never at a loss for a telling example.
Though this is not specifically a book about the countryside, inevitably it looms large since even intercity trains run through it, as demonstrated in the chapter ‘A country journey like no other’, which also emphasises the author’s West Country background. But whatever your interest in railways and wherever your favourite part of the countryside, there is much here for you. The chapter on railways for pleasure perhaps sums it all up.
SPECIFICATIONS: Cased and Jacket | 195 x 135 mm | 192 Pages |
For the Love of a Cat: A Publisher’s Story
USD $11.99 Tax IncludedFew people can appreciate the joy that being owned by a cat brings better than David St John Thomas — the latest in a long line of publishers and authors to pay homage to the very special cats who have entered their busy lives.
This is a book for everyone who really cares about cats. Vividly written, sometimes serious, sometimes light-hearted, anyone who has fallen for a cat, however much against their better judgement, is bound to find it uplifting. While cat people are nice (Hitler couldn’t stand them!), the real heroes in this book are naturally the cats themselves. A rich portfolio of feline characters — including the author’s own cats — step off the page, of perhaps lie curled in seductive curves on it, so vividly that you can feel their fur and hear their purr!
Rich in entertaining anecdotes and asides, For the Love of a Cat will enhance every cat owner’s understanding of their feline friend and remind them again and again just how lucky they are to share their lives with this most fascinating of creatures.
Specifications: 9781921497360 | Paperback | 190 x 135mm / 7.5 x 5.3in | 248 Pages