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A review by elementarymydear
Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain's Lost Cities and Vanished Villages by Matthew Green
informative
medium-paced
4.0
I, along with many others, have a strange fascination with abandoned places, so the idea of looking at British history through the lens of lost settlements was a really intriguing idea to me.
Matthew Green is a social historian, and the best parts of this book are where he brings that to the forefront. Knowing the day-to-day lives of neolithic island communities, or how tourism impacted the way of life in the remotest parts of Britain, are fascinating to read about and portrayed brilliantly. Green’s writing is compelling and evocative, creating a very vivid image of what life was like.
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Some of the chapters are much more recent, such as the chapter on Capel Celyn, which I found particularly interesting. Where the ancient settlements are fascinating for how far removed they are from us, this one was because it was so recent and has a visible impact that we still see today.
The one chapter that didn’t really fit was on the military training village, which became more about current military tactics rather than a social history on Britain. I did get the sense that Green would rather have focussed on some former training villages rather than the most current one, but that due to lack of information, or some other reason, that wasn’t possible.
Overall this was a really interesting read, examining different periods of history through the villages and towns left behind.
I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.
Matthew Green is a social historian, and the best parts of this book are where he brings that to the forefront. Knowing the day-to-day lives of neolithic island communities, or how tourism impacted the way of life in the remotest parts of Britain, are fascinating to read about and portrayed brilliantly. Green’s writing is compelling and evocative, creating a very vivid image of what life was like.
📚Blog📖YouTube📖Instagram📚
Some of the chapters are much more recent, such as the chapter on Capel Celyn, which I found particularly interesting. Where the ancient settlements are fascinating for how far removed they are from us, this one was because it was so recent and has a visible impact that we still see today.
The one chapter that didn’t really fit was on the military training village, which became more about current military tactics rather than a social history on Britain. I did get the sense that Green would rather have focussed on some former training villages rather than the most current one, but that due to lack of information, or some other reason, that wasn’t possible.
Overall this was a really interesting read, examining different periods of history through the villages and towns left behind.
I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.