Book news and reviews – June 2015

Grantham Canal Society has published a new pamphlet on their work and the 300-year history of the canal. Having restored a four-mile length of canalway in Lincolnshire and worked alongside other groups to nurture the area for the public, the organisation aims to garner further support for future work. The guide includes maps, illustrations and navigational notes. Tel: 0115 931 3671.

Author Robert Goddard will be talking about his latest thriller The Ends of the Earth at The Room Upstairs, Lincoln Drill Hall on 10th July. The final part of the Wide World trilogy, the book is set in the aftermath of the First World War and mixes political intrigue, murder mystery and espionage. Tickets are available from Lindum Books, Bailgate, Lincoln and cost £4. Tel: 01522 262374.

A Village Tale, by Grimsby based writer Donald McDonald, is a new novel about the rural communities affected by the outbreak of the Great War, and the impact that the conflict had on a way of life centuries old. The book is published by Brewin Books.

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A GREAT BUILDING BY JONATHAN FOYLE
Published by Scala, Price £19.95
The focus of the media and tourists to Lincoln right now is the newly reopened Lincoln Castle but that other unavoidable, majestic monument adjacent to the Castle will always captivate visitors and residents in the historic centre of the city.

Historian and architect Jonathan Foyle’s new biography of Lincoln Cathedral is a wonderfully illustrated introduction for those wanting to learn about the building for the first time and comprehensive enough to attract those already familiar, with the history with a focus on its special details and the conservation work that is undertaken today.

Having grown up in Lincolnshire, Foyle has admired the building as a landmark, historical monument and architectural structure for many years and he brings plenty of enthusiasm and professional expertise to his writing. References to the religious and political context in which works were undertaken throughout the thirteenth century and the impact of individual bishops also reflects a depth of understanding that is likely to capture the interest of a wider audience. Although the photography alone, specially commissioned for this volume, will no doubt draw many readers to the book, and direct attention to many previously unnoticed aspects of the exquisitely detailed cathedral. www.scalapublishers.com

TOM’S KRAZY KWERKY KWIZZES BY TOM BELL
Published by Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd, Price £4.99
This quiz book has been compiled to suit all ages, with forty categories covering a wide range of topics from British Birds to Beverages. The writer Tom Bell, a lifelong Lincolnshire resident, is no stranger to posing tough questions or searching for answers from clues. His past as both a teacher and police officer would seem to make his new role as quiz master a fitting one. Mixing clear and cryptic questions, many will prompt lateral thinking and ‘get the grey matter going’. The book would make for a fairly challenging quiz, whether readers wish to test themselves or use the book to enliven a social event. And there’s room for improvement among all of us when it comes to our general knowledge. If you want to see how much you really know, without the help of Google, here’s an enjoyable way to find out. www.austinmacauley.com

LINCOLN’S CASTLE, BAIL AND CLOSE BY ANDREW WALKER (ED)
Published by The Survey of Lincoln, Price £6.95
The informative series of Survey of Lincoln booklets reaches the Cathedral Quarter with this eleventh volume. As opposed to certain of the other areas of the city and its suburbs documented by the Survey of Lincoln, there is much existing information on the Bail and the city’s major landmarks. Nevertheless, the contributors manage to find new avenues of research, including the period when the Castle was home to the County Archives and its history as a tourist attraction.

As with previous volumes, there is much to learn about the varied architecture and the local personalities of the city’s past here, and there is attention paid to all social strata – from the Judges’ Lodgings to the lives of the domestic servants of the houses in Minster Close – contributing further to the series’ value as a larger picture of the changing social and economic fabric of Lincoln. visit thesurveyoflincoln.co.uk

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