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The Thames
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 charts the 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 provides an 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.”
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 provides an 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.”
360 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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About the author
Jonathan Schneer
13 books30 followersDr. Jonathan Schneer, who received his BA from McGill University in 1971 and his PhD from Columbia University in 1978, is the modern British historian at Georgia Tech in the School of History, Technology, and Society.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 22, 2020
England has some extraordinary and important rivers including the Mersey, Tyne, and the longest, The Severn. By far the most important is the Thames. It is an entirely English river of about 220 miles in length. If you follow it from its source you will come to know Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Essex, Kent, and of course, Greater London. Its ports, primarily around London are some of the most busy and important. Britain has depended on the Thames for its wealth and survival.
This is the way James Schneer describes the river: “The Thames…is really two rivers. The tidal river with its swift currents running through the flat salt marshes that stretch from the estuary all the way to London, is the river that directly links Britain with the rest of the globe. It bore the world’s traffic even in Roman times; eventually it made London the world’s greatest port….Then there is the other river, the sweet Thames running softly west of London…that Stanley Spencer worshipped….beloved by many poets and artists, but not only by them…Take the path west from the town out along Port Meadow and you will see a riverscape essentially unchanged for a thousand years, with geese and ducks and graceful swans; and on either side grazing cows and horses….Many of the meanings with which Britons have invested this…waterway are changeless too…Always the Thames was crucial to those who drew their drinking water from it; always it meant life to the men and women who farmed along its banks; always it was a path followed by invaders….For two thousand years, until the 1960s, it was Britain’s prime commercial artery.”
It might help to think of the Thames as a jewel and Schneer as describing many of its facets. In isolating each facet there is a danger in losing the vision of the entire jewel and this seemed to be the case at times: The book lacked some coherence. Yet there are plenty of its aspects that are very enlightening and so I will not make too much of the sections that I seemed to slog through instead of being lifted by. It could have been better but it was enough.
This is the way James Schneer describes the river: “The Thames…is really two rivers. The tidal river with its swift currents running through the flat salt marshes that stretch from the estuary all the way to London, is the river that directly links Britain with the rest of the globe. It bore the world’s traffic even in Roman times; eventually it made London the world’s greatest port….Then there is the other river, the sweet Thames running softly west of London…that Stanley Spencer worshipped….beloved by many poets and artists, but not only by them…Take the path west from the town out along Port Meadow and you will see a riverscape essentially unchanged for a thousand years, with geese and ducks and graceful swans; and on either side grazing cows and horses….Many of the meanings with which Britons have invested this…waterway are changeless too…Always the Thames was crucial to those who drew their drinking water from it; always it meant life to the men and women who farmed along its banks; always it was a path followed by invaders….For two thousand years, until the 1960s, it was Britain’s prime commercial artery.”
It might help to think of the Thames as a jewel and Schneer as describing many of its facets. In isolating each facet there is a danger in losing the vision of the entire jewel and this seemed to be the case at times: The book lacked some coherence. Yet there are plenty of its aspects that are very enlightening and so I will not make too much of the sections that I seemed to slog through instead of being lifted by. It could have been better but it was enough.
October 4, 2018
Lots of history,fact filled,well written and if you have an interest in England may be worth your time to read this one.Loved some of the earlier background on the river as I hadn't known the Thames is at least a half a million years old and that is just a sample of some of the intriguing info this contained.Highly interesting up until about 1800 when the author descends into the modern age of the river.I had less attention for the end part of the book but the chapter on Taming the Thames was fascinating as I liked knowing what devices were used in the past and what is currently used today.I think on the whole it definitely made me want to learn more of its earlier history and so I was glad I happened to pick this up.
June 1, 2008
Jon was in my class at the Little Red School House. He teaches history at Georgia Tech. This is the second of his popular English histories. I was impressed to see it at the British Museum at other popular bookstores when I visited England in November 2006. This book is a collection of different historical stories that took place at different parts of the Thames River from pre-historic days through the 20th Century. I found it quite interesting though no so little about British history that it was hard to build upon other knowledge I had on the subject.
April 24, 2007
Whatever you do, please, please do not spend even three minutes of your time reading this book. It took what could have been a really interesting subject and concept, and delivered it in the dullest and most painful way possible.
February 27, 2025
Engaging and fast-paced, filled with great anecdotes, interesting facts and historical characters all beautifully linked to the history of the River Thames, London, England and the world.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews