Estuary: Out From London To The Sea

Description

An immersive, intimate journey into the world of the Thames Estuary and the people who spend their lives there The Thames Estuary is one of the world's great deltas, providing passage in and out of London for millennia. It is silted up with the memories and artefacts of past voyages. It is the habitat for an astonishing range of wildlife. And for the people who live and work on the estuary, it is a way of life unlike any other - one most would not trade for anything, despites its dangers. Rachel Lichtenstein has travelled the length and breadth of the estuary many times and in many vessels, from hardy tug boats to stately pleasure cruisers to an inflatable dinghy. And during these crossing she has gathered an extraordinary chorus of voices: mudlarkers and fishermen, radio pirates and champion racers, the men who risk their lives out on the water and the women who wait on the shore. From the acclaimed author of Brick Lane and Rodinsky's Room, Estuary is a thoughtful and intimate portrait of a profoundly British place. With a clear eye and a sharp ear, Rachel Lichtenstein captures the essence of a community and an environment, examining how each has shaped and continues to shape the other.

Author description

Rachel Lichtenstein is the author of Rodinsky's Room, which she co-authored with Iain Sinclair, Rodinsky's Whitechapel, Keeping Pace: Older Women of the East End, A Little Dust Whispered, On Brick Lane, and Diamond Street: The Hidden World of Hatton Garden. She trained as a sculptor, and has exhibited her work in several British and international venues, including the Whitechapel Gallery, the Barbican, the British Library, Woodstreet Galleries in Pittsburgh in the USA, and the Jerusalem Theatre in Israel. From 2002 to 2004, she was the British Library's first Pearson Creative Research Fellow. Her forthcoming book, Estuary, will be published by Hamish Hamilton in Autumn 2016.