The British Industrial Canal: Reading the Waterways from the Eighteenth Century to the Anthropocene

This book explores the literary connections between canals and the British industrial revolution, arguing that canals were not just a transport system but also a coal-fired energy system with implications for the present. It demonstrates how waterways literature has always been interested in the things we dig out of the ground and the uses to which they are put, and how canals linked inland Britain to the Empire, connected forms of labor, and people to water.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2023
Publisher: University of Wales Press

Since the eighteenth century, a plethora of literary, popular, non-fiction, and archival texts have captured the human experience of the British industrial canal. This captivating book delves into the intricate networks of literary canal texts spanning four centuries, aiming to unravel our profound connections with water, place, and the past. In the face of our climate crisis, this reading urges us to reevaluate the waterways of literature not as mere remnants of an ancient transport system but as a coal-fired energy system with far-reaching implications for the present. This book showcases the enduring fascination of waterways literature with the treasures we extract from the earth and the diverse purposes to which they are put to use. The industrial canal, far from being merely a means of connecting parts of Britain, became a conduit through which we delve into the depths of our historical connections, explore the intricate links between inland Britain and the Empire, unravel the intricate connections between different forms of labor and the people who depended on water, and much more. Through the lens of these literary works, we gain a deeper understanding of our past and the ways in which it continues to shape our present.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781837720033