Book inspired by the death of letters in the age of emails.
Millions of letters survive giving glimpses of the past, written by kings, poets, artists, scientists, soldiers and philosophers, and by thousands of ordinary people.
The hand-written letter was personal, physically real, committed to paper, giving real pleasure or real pain, and it could survive for years or even centuries.
Sitting down to compose a letter, the writer was face to face with the fundamental question: “What can I say about my life?” – a question most of us can no longer answer.
Cycling: the First Fifty Years, 1870-1920
The bicycle began as a hobby-horse for adults and became, through a series of inspired engineering experiments, probably the most benign machine ever invented, a freedom machine which changed the lives of millions. It enabled ordinary people to explore their environment, urban or rural, or even to travel across continents if they were determined enough. It created a new sport which produced great champions and outstanding feats of athleticism . It was healthy, low-tech and environmentally friendly, and it drew people together in cycling clubs. The first fifty years of cycling history are fascinating and delightful, as people learned to enjoy their new-found freedoms. This book is a serious portrait of those years from many different angles; but it is also a frankly nostalgic journey back to the time of the chaps with mutton-chop whiskers, Norfolk jackets and penny-farthings, and of women learning to be daring enough to cycle in muslins and crinolines, or in the more rational bloomers.
