Richard Smyth es un escritor cuyas obras a menudo profundizan en la historia inglesa y el descubrimiento de la belleza en lo cotidiano. Su prosa se caracteriza por agudos detalles de observación y un ingenio sutil. Como ávido observador de aves, infunde en su escritura un profundo conocimiento del mundo natural, enriqueciendo tanto su ficción como su no ficción. El estilo de Smyth es preciso pero accesible, invitando a los lectores a sus fascinantes exploraciones.
The narrative follows Richard Smyth, who grew up in a large family with ten sisters and six brothers. Struggling academically, he eventually dropped out of school. Eager to find purpose, he sought to join the army but faced the challenge of his young age, requiring his mother's consent. The story explores themes of family dynamics, personal struggle, and the quest for independence in the face of obstacles.
After the Battle of Hastings, King Harold’s tattoos were used to identify his body. Elizabeth of York was the model for the Queen in the first deck of cards. Queen Victoria appears on the 1851 Census. She lists her occupation as ‘the Queen’. Henry VIII used a wheelchair and wore glasses. This fun little book, with 400 fantastic facts about British royal history and more than 100 illustrations, will delight fans of British history everywhere!
'Generous, moving and alive. A gift' - Tim Dee, author of Greenery 'Intelligent, thought-provoking and always, always interesting' - Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment 'Smyth writes with warmth and engaging perception about our relationship and understanding of the natural world on our doorsteps' - Jon Dunn, author of The Glitter in the Green 'Fresh and tender and playful' - Patrick Galbraith, author of In Search of One Last Song Weren't they richer, rock pools, wasn't the seashore busier, when I was a kid? Richard Smyth had always been drawn to the natural world, but when he became a father he found a new joy and a new urgency in showing his kids the everyday wild things around them. As he and his children explore rockpools in Whitley Bay, or the woods and moors near his Yorkshire home, he imagines the world they might inhabit as they grow up. Through different objects discovered on their wanderings - a beech leaf, a jay feather, a limpetshell - Smyth examines his own past as well as that of the early natural historians, weaving together history, memoir, and environmentalism to form a new kind of nature writing: one that asks both what we have lost, and what we have yet to find.
When an American whaler arrives to a British coastal town, the peace of its inhabitants is disrupted. It's 1920s England, and the coastal town of Gravely is finally enjoying a fragile peace after World War I. John Lowell, a naturalist who writes articles on the flora and fauna of the shoreline, and his wife Harriet, lead a simple life, basking in their love for each other and enjoying the company of John's visiting old school friend, David. But when an American whaler arrives in town with his beautiful red-haired daughters, boasting of his plans to build a pier and pleasure-grounds a mile out to sea, unexpected tensions and temptations arise. As secrets multiply, Harriet, John, and David must each ask themselves: what price is to be paid for pleasure?
The stories shortlisted for the 2021 BBC National Short Story Award with
Cambridge University take place in liminal spaces - their characters find
themselves in transit, travelling along flight paths, train lines and roads,
or in moments where new opportunities or directions suddenly seem possible.
