July 15th is publication day. My second book, The Vanishing Age of Sail: The Illustrated Journals of Kelsick Wood, Shipbuilder, is published today by Amberley. It tells the story of Georgian Britain, the Industrial Revolution and a Cumbrian shipbuilder’s fight for survival.
Kelsick Wood’s shipyard was building the wooden brigs which powered Britain’s economic expansion, but in private he liked to draw and paint. He found a unique way to bring his public and private lives together.
I’ve tried to paint this as a picture of my own – of Kelsick’s yard in 1830s Maryport, the vessels he built and the remarkable lives of the men (and women) who owned, commanded and crewed them.
If you read it, get in touch. I’d love to know how you find it.
Simon
