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The Channel

Charlie Connelly

A bulwark against invasion, a conduit for exchange and a challenge to be conquered, the English Channel - 21 miles wide at its narrowest point - represents much more than a conductor of goods and people. Criss-crossing the Channel, Charlie Connelly collects its stories and brings them vividly to life, from tailing Oscar Wilde's shadow through the dark streets of Dieppe to unearthing Britain's first beauty pageant at the end of Folkestone pier. We learn that Louis Bleriot was actually a terrible pilot, the tragic fate of the first successful Channel swimmer, and that if a man with a buttered head and pigs' bladders attached to his trousers hadn't fought off an attack by dogfish we might never have had a Channel Tunnel.
Charlie Connelly uncovers remarkable tales of swimmers and flyers, pirates and soldiers, heroes and villains, pioneers and refugees. Their stories are all united by the English Channel to ensure the sea that makes us an island will never be the same again.


'A wonderfully quirky history' SUNDAY TIMES
'The perfect read while you wait for your summer holiday to begin' MAIL ON SUNDAY

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  • Classification : History
  • Pub Date : JUN 24, 2021
  • Imprint : Weidenfeld & Nicolson
  • Page Extent : 304
  • Binding : PB
  • ISBN : 9781474607926
  • Price : INR 750
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Charlie Connelly

Charlie Connelly is the author of a string of books including And Did Those Feet: Walking Through 2000 Years of British and Irish History, Last Train to Hilversum: A Journey in Search of the Magic of Radio and Bring Me Sunshine: A Windswept, Rain-Soaked, Sun-Kissed, Snow-Capped Guide to Our Weather. Three of his books have been selected as BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Charlie is the literary correspondent for the New European, writes and presents the Coastal Stories podcast and performs his one-man show about the shipping forecast in venues across the country. He lives in Scotland where he misses Charlton Athletic terribly.

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