William Armstrong: Magician of the North [Hardcover]

Armstrong deserves to be recognised as one of the titans of the 19th century… this book should do much to readdress the balance. --Country Life

...a fascinating new book about him demonstrates that he is just as relevant now as he was in Victorian times. --BBC North

William Armstrong was an engineering genius and perceptive scientist but his part in Britain's 19th-century history has been shamefully neglected. So hooray for Henrietta Heald, who gives us a thoroughly researched, finely written and helpfully illustrated biography. (And let me add that her publishers, Northumbria Press, are to be congratulated on the peerless quality of this hard-cover edition.) Heald skilfully relates Armstrong's story as an entertaining and gripping account of a grammar school boy who grew up in a book-filled home and ended up as the builder and owner of Cragside, which remains one of the most famous great houses of England. In an England of scheming, snobbery and jealousy, it was not an easy journey. Her book is essential reading for anyone interested in the the power and greatness of Victorian England for which Armstrong's contribution was as great as that of the railway engineers such as Stephenson and Brunel. And do not assume that Henrietta would let us down on the technicalities of Armstrong's inventions; she merely makes them explicit enough for people such as me to understand. --Len Deighton

...a fascinating new book about him demonstrates that he is just as relevant now as he was in Victorian times. --BBC North

William Armstrong was an engineering genius and perceptive scientist but his part in Britain's 19th-century history has been shamefully neglected. So hooray for Henrietta Heald, who gives us a thoroughly researched, finely written and helpfully illustrated biography. (And let me add that her publishers, Northumbria Press, are to be congratulated on the peerless quality of this hard-cover edition.) Heald skilfully relates Armstrong's story as an entertaining and gripping account of a grammar school boy who grew up in a book-filled home and ended up as the builder and owner of Cragside, which remains one of the most famous great houses of England. In an England of scheming, snobbery and jealousy, it was not an easy journey. Her book is essential reading for anyone interested in the the power and greatness of Victorian England for which Armstrong's contribution was as great as that of the railway engineers such as Stephenson and Brunel. And do not assume that Henrietta would let us down on the technicalities of Armstrong's inventions; she merely makes them explicit enough for people such as me to understand. --Len Deighton

Henrietta Heald has edited books on British history and travel, interior design and architecture, and whose best sellers include the monumental Chronicle of Britain. She has contributed to many publications, including the Spectator and The Times.