The Thames

England's great river through the ages.

The Thames, England’s greatest river—for centuries an aid to trade, a stalwart of national defense, a stage for some of England’s greatest historical events, an inspiration to some of England’s best poets and artists, a challenge to engineers. Yet while there is a constancy in the history of the river, there is also change. The Thames chartsthe diverse meanings of the river over the course of millennia, from prehistoric to modern times.

From the elephants on the bank of the prehistoric river to Caesar’s expeditionary force; from King Alfred’s battleships to the signing of Magna Carta; from the river’s role in both the coronation and execution of Anne Boleyn to seventeenth-century frost fairs and the first performance of Handel’s ‘Water Music’; from Turner’s view of the river as arcadia through its bombardment during the Blitz, The Thames providesan intimate portrait of the waterway at the heart of English history.

Blending elegant prose with historical detail, this exceptional book superbly brings to life the river Winston Churchill once vividly described as “a golden thread in the national tapestry.”