The Seaside: England's Love Affair

England's seaside towns have a rich history of medicinal bathing and pleasure, but have faced challenges due to austerity, Brexit, and Covid. Writer Madeleine Bunting explores forty resorts, staying in hotels, caravans, and holiday camps, and delves into their landscapes, histories, and contemporary plight.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 400 pages
Publication date: 02 May 2024
Publisher: Granta Books

England's seaside is a captivating reflection of the nation's current state, emerging from a period of austerity, Brexit, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Its diverse coastline boasts cliffs, coves, pebbled shores, expansive sandy beaches, salt marshes, and estuaries that extend far inland. These coastal areas have witnessed the rise of England's renowned holiday resorts, which initially emerged as spas for medicinal bathing in the early eighteenth century but quickly transformed into destinations of pleasure, entertainment, fantasy, and adventure. Acclaimed writer Madeleine Bunting embarked on a journey around England, tracing a clockwise path from Scarborough to Blackpool, to explore the enduring appeal of seaside towns and the changes that have occurred over time. During her travels, Bunting immersed herself in forty resorts, residing in hotels, caravans, and holiday camps, and engaged in various activities, including swimming from their beaches and interacting with their residents to gain insights into their landscapes, histories, and contemporary challenges.

Weight: 276g
Dimension: 197 x 130 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783787197