 Trade In this Item for up to £3.05
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Wainwright Letters for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £3.05, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
An ideal gift for Wainwright fans. (Grange Now! )
Always well-informed, sometimes innocent, often moving and yet tough-minded, the letters present a vivid picture of one of Cumbria's creative geniuses. (Carlisle News & Star )
Enhance our picture of a man who guarded his privacy so closely that he never even used his first name in print. (Daily Mail )
This book is a delight; there is so much of interest if you love the Lake District, but also if you are interested in the struggle of the creative process and also the complexity of human relationships. (Lakeland Walker )
Hunter Davies's editing of these letters has been masterfully reticent - just enough information and support to shape a very special human story that seems to tell itself. The Wainwright Letters offer us the multi-faceted mosaic of AW's life as he never intended to tell it. Today and forever he is simply "Wainwright". (Cumberland News )
Present and unforgetrable picture of one of the great but eccentric creative geniuses of the twentieth century. (Keswick Reminder )
Hunter Davies's editing of these letters has been masterfully reticent; just enough information and support to shape a very special human story that seems to tell itself. The Wainwirght Letters offer a multi-faceted mosaic of AW's life as he never intended to tell it. (Workington Times & Star )
Through these letters, Wainwright is shown to be far more than a writer and illustrator of guidebooks. He is a man whose pen is able to convey the real power of the written word. It will be a wonderful resource for future writers to use when assessing Alfred Wainwright's place within twentieth-century literature. (Footsteps )
His affability and friendliness shines through in his written word. (Best of British )
Feels a bit like eavesdropping on a series of private jokes and flirtations, but fascinating nonetheless. (Country Walking )
Never less than than entertaining. (Cumbria )
Reveal the character and life of a man whose passion for the hills has provided so much pleasure. (Workington Times & Star )
Hunter Davies is to be congratulated on undertaking and successfully carrying out what must have seemed a truly daunting task. (TGO: The Great Outdoors )
Always well-informed, sometimes innocent, often moving and yet tough-minded, the letters present a vivid picture of one of Cumbria's creative geniuses. (Carlisle News & Star )
Enhance our picture of a man who guarded his privacy so closely that he never even used his first name in print. (Daily Mail )
This book is a delight; there is so much of interest if you love the Lake District, but also if you are interested in the struggle of the creative process and also the complexity of human relationships. (Lakeland Walker )
Hunter Davies's editing of these letters has been masterfully reticent - just enough information and support to shape a very special human story that seems to tell itself. The Wainwright Letters offer us the multi-faceted mosaic of AW's life as he never intended to tell it. Today and forever he is simply "Wainwright". (Cumberland News )
Present and unforgetrable picture of one of the great but eccentric creative geniuses of the twentieth century. (Keswick Reminder )
Hunter Davies's editing of these letters has been masterfully reticent; just enough information and support to shape a very special human story that seems to tell itself. The Wainwirght Letters offer a multi-faceted mosaic of AW's life as he never intended to tell it. (Workington Times & Star )
Through these letters, Wainwright is shown to be far more than a writer and illustrator of guidebooks. He is a man whose pen is able to convey the real power of the written word. It will be a wonderful resource for future writers to use when assessing Alfred Wainwright's place within twentieth-century literature. (Footsteps )
His affability and friendliness shines through in his written word. (Best of British )
Feels a bit like eavesdropping on a series of private jokes and flirtations, but fascinating nonetheless. (Country Walking )
Never less than than entertaining. (Cumbria )
Reveal the character and life of a man whose passion for the hills has provided so much pleasure. (Workington Times & Star )
Hunter Davies is to be congratulated on undertaking and successfully carrying out what must have seemed a truly daunting task. (TGO: The Great Outdoors )
Product Description
Alfred Wainwright, the legendary fell walker and author of the incomparable and unique Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells was also a fluent, eloquent and diligent correspondent. Writing to old friends and to the many new ones gained through his books, and to his love, and later second wife, Betty, his letters display a much warmer, more sensitive and emotional character than his gruff popular image would suggest.
Hunter Davies, Wainwright's biographer, has here collected a selection of letters that range from his early years in Blackburn to his established position as Borough Treasurer in Kendal, and cover all aspects of his professional and personal life, as well as the voluminous correspondence that was a consequence of writing and publishing the Pictorial Guides. The latter vividly illuminate many aspects of that turbulent but ultimately triumphant process, while the former present a picture of a dedicated public servant whose personal life had been deeply unhappy until late in life he found unexpected but transcendent love and happiness.
In turn business-like and comic, wonderfully well informed and remarkably innocent, deeply moving and yet tough-minded, the letters present a vivid and unforgettable picture of one of the great but eccentric creative geniuses of the twentieth century.
Hunter Davies, Wainwright's biographer, has here collected a selection of letters that range from his early years in Blackburn to his established position as Borough Treasurer in Kendal, and cover all aspects of his professional and personal life, as well as the voluminous correspondence that was a consequence of writing and publishing the Pictorial Guides. The latter vividly illuminate many aspects of that turbulent but ultimately triumphant process, while the former present a picture of a dedicated public servant whose personal life had been deeply unhappy until late in life he found unexpected but transcendent love and happiness.
In turn business-like and comic, wonderfully well informed and remarkably innocent, deeply moving and yet tough-minded, the letters present a vivid and unforgettable picture of one of the great but eccentric creative geniuses of the twentieth century.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book does not reveal very much we didn't already know but it does give some interesting insights into AWs personality. he had a sense of humour not readily apparent from other sources. There is one irritating thing about this book and that is the apparent lack of proof reading. Fair enough Davies says the letters contain AWs original script complete with spelling errors but there are a large number of errors in HDs accompanying notes which makes one wonder if the AW errors were there originally or not. It all struck me as rather hurriedly put together with little care.
Format:Hardcover
Received as a present as I love Hunter Daviehds work and anything about AW. Generally enjoyed it but felt very uneasy when reading the letters to his lawyer about the divorce and love letters to Betty. Gives a very different impression of the man that has not been portrayed before. Disappointed that only the endpieces were original reproduction. Illustrations in some letters mentioned but no examples pictured.
Format:Hardcover
This book was a joy to read. It covers a very long timespan and it is fascinating to see him change from a saucy young rascal in the Blackburn office to a mature and respected local government officer and writer, and then to an aged and very unlikely TV star, all the time deeply in love with his adopted Lakeland. All who have read his guidebooks must marvel at his patience, which he demonstrates by generously answering all who chose to contact him over such a long period of time. He obviously loved writing, and thank goodness for that.
His quirky sense of humour, of which we get a glimpse in the guidebooks, is given free rein in his letters and greatly enhances the pleasure in reading them.
I must confess to finding his letters to Betty something of a trial (think "lovesick swain") but they may be a highlight of the book for other readers and there is plenty of material to satisfy any Wainwright admirer.
Like another reviewer I found distacting the number of mistakes in Hunter Davies's text, all the more surprising when you consider that this amounts to only a tiny percentage of the book's content. I know that HD likes a bargain - maybe he got the proof reading done on the cheap!
Enough of these quibbles - this is a book to enlighten and delight any Wainwright fan.
His quirky sense of humour, of which we get a glimpse in the guidebooks, is given free rein in his letters and greatly enhances the pleasure in reading them.
I must confess to finding his letters to Betty something of a trial (think "lovesick swain") but they may be a highlight of the book for other readers and there is plenty of material to satisfy any Wainwright admirer.
Like another reviewer I found distacting the number of mistakes in Hunter Davies's text, all the more surprising when you consider that this amounts to only a tiny percentage of the book's content. I know that HD likes a bargain - maybe he got the proof reading done on the cheap!
Enough of these quibbles - this is a book to enlighten and delight any Wainwright fan.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
great book
The book was a present for my husband and he was extremely pleased with it. He has most of the books by or about wainwright and this was a lovely addition -well worth the money... Read more
Published 5 months ago by ludo
wainwright
This is an excellent book for those who are followers of Wainwright. Easy reading, humorous, sad and serious. Easy to pick up and read for a few minutes at anyt time. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Alan F
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
