Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain's Lost Cities and Vanished Villages
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- Create Date：2022-08-07 17:21:41
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Matthew Green
- ISBN：0393635341
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Helen Geng
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Actually 2。5Kind of meh & much too long。This topic should have been fascinating but wasn’t， as covered by this author。Read August 2022NYPL book
Maura Heaphy Dutton
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Fascinating collection of （relatively） little know episodes in British history， telling the stories of places that， for different reasons， were abandoned and slipped from practical memory into a kind of "shadowland" of myth and legend。I'll be honest and say that I enjoyed some chapters more than others -- by about three-quarters of the way through， I was bogged down a little， and found myself thinking uh-huh。 uh-huh。 Really？ Again？ That was cured， briskly and even movingly by a passionate， eye-o Fascinating collection of （relatively） little know episodes in British history， telling the stories of places that， for different reasons， were abandoned and slipped from practical memory into a kind of "shadowland" of myth and legend。I'll be honest and say that I enjoyed some chapters more than others -- by about three-quarters of the way through， I was bogged down a little， and found myself thinking uh-huh。 uh-huh。 Really？ Again？ That was cured， briskly and even movingly by a passionate， eye-opening final chapter about Capel Celyn， a Welsh village that was "drowned" in the 1960s when its valley was flooded to create a reservoir for drinking water for the City of Liverpool。 Green really aces the account of the insensitivity of the Powers That Were to the feelings and desires of the people whose homes they destroyed --- shouldn't they be glad to lose the only homes they had ever known， and their community， as they were getting nice modern homes out of the deal？ Why were they standing in the way of Progress？ -- as he drags the stories of lost villages from the realm of quaint history to uncomfortably current。A thoughtful coda really pulls it all together， suggesting that perhaps we should be paying attention to the fates of places like Skara Brae， in the Orkney Islands， and seaside towns like Winchelsea and Dunwich as climate change and the extremes of weather that it brings with it might also be bringing abandoned towns and villages to us， much too close for comfort， and sooner than we think。What would have improved the book were some maps -- an overview of all the sites， and their relationship to each other would have been nice， and then， chapter by chapter， maps that showed the relationship of the lost to nearby towns and cities that survived， or grew up in their stead。 And while I like the way that photographs were embedded in the text， instead of appearing out of context in a clump of random pictures， I would have liked proper captions， telling me exactly what I was seeing。 。。。more
Mark Piesing
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Exquisitely written combining great travel writing with forgotten history brought to life to tell the story of a lost Britain。 My only criticisms are that the book is too short， and I would like there to be more of his impressions of visiting these lost cities and vanished villages in the book。
Richard Hakes
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I have read a few books like this on unusual， inaccessible or deserted places。 It actually seems that there are a lot of them but then again you only have to look around and abandoned factories and pubs abound。 It seems the fate of our society that once the purpose has changed abandon follows while the recourses for re new accumulate。 Now the problem with these books is that they are researched by people who do not really understand what the subject is。 There was some dodgy wine import， price an I have read a few books like this on unusual， inaccessible or deserted places。 It actually seems that there are a lot of them but then again you only have to look around and abandoned factories and pubs abound。 It seems the fate of our society that once the purpose has changed abandon follows while the recourses for re new accumulate。 Now the problem with these books is that they are researched by people who do not really understand what the subject is。 There was some dodgy wine import， price and reservoir volume figures in this book that stood out to me。 It does make me wonder how much else is wrong and misunderstood？ 。。。more
Amy
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What a fascinating book！ The author takes us throughout the UK visiting vanished towns， villages， and cities。 The reasons for the disappearances range from plague， falling into the sea， being buried in sand。 It is obvious that a lot of research went into this book， and as someone who studied Archaeology， I found the whole book fascinating。 It will appeal to all those who like lost places。Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC！
Sean Hawker
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“Lost places have left their mark。 They are still with us。 This is as useful a metaphorical truth as a geographical one。 We are defined by our failures and losses as much by our successes。”Thoroughly fascinating， this book looks at how both natural and man-made causes have been responsible for vanished cities and villages in Britain。
BAM the enigma
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7/19/22
Pam Sartain
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Shadowlands; A Journey Through Lost Britain by Matthew Green looks at places in the UK that are deserted or abandoned， and puts them in the context of their history。This is an interesting book with the author visiting each site， so you get to know what they look like today。I found this to be a good book， and liked the mix of setting it in it's historical place， and what it's like today。Shadowlands; A Journey Through Lost Britain was published on 17th March 2022， and is available from Amazon， Wat Shadowlands; A Journey Through Lost Britain by Matthew Green looks at places in the UK that are deserted or abandoned， and puts them in the context of their history。This is an interesting book with the author visiting each site， so you get to know what they look like today。I found this to be a good book， and liked the mix of setting it in it's historical place， and what it's like today。Shadowlands; A Journey Through Lost Britain was published on 17th March 2022， and is available from Amazon， Waterstones and Bookshop。org。You can follow Matthew Green on Twitter and Instagram。I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review， so my thanks to NetGalley and to Faber and Faber。 。。。more
Jane Meredith
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This book is so rich in information， a total treat for anyone interested in the history of the British Isles。 I found my jaw dropping on several occasions and it was a particularly poignant and close to home ending with the chapter on Capel Celyn， the flooded North Wales village。 So informative and it feels like we journey with the author to visit these sites of national interest。 Thank you for that。
Hayley Dunning
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Fascinating and illuminating， occasionally too descriptive。
Rebecca
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3。5 A very detailed， incredibly well researched book。 There is a lot of colour & the author’s personal journeys to each location added a lot of emotion so this isn’t a dry research text。 And yet this added detail didn’t always really gel for me & I found my attention wandering at times。
Paul
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Just north of where I live is not one but two deserted villages， Knowlton and on the opposite bank of the River Allen is Brockington。 I have walked past them on a guided tour and looked at the bumps in the fields。 There are various reasons why this might have happened， the Black Death being a popular one， but the exact reason may never be known。Matthew Green first heard of Dunwich in 2016， a medieval city that had fallen into the sea because of coastal erosion。 The last church in the city had dr Just north of where I live is not one but two deserted villages， Knowlton and on the opposite bank of the River Allen is Brockington。 I have walked past them on a guided tour and looked at the bumps in the fields。 There are various reasons why this might have happened， the Black Death being a popular one， but the exact reason may never be known。Matthew Green first heard of Dunwich in 2016， a medieval city that had fallen into the sea because of coastal erosion。 The last church in the city had dropped into the sea in 1922 and the mysticism of the place intrigued him。 It would be the beginnings of a series of journeys that would take him from the wonderfully named Winchelsea to the bleak Scottish islands that are battered by the Atlantic， to the mountains of Wales where a village was deliberately drowned to provide an English city with water。I thoughts parts of this were excellent， particularly the chapters on Skara Brae on Orkney and Stanford in Norfolk。 These two chapters had Green visiting the sites and teasing out the stories from what he was observing。 Other chapters were more of a potted history with a handful of paragraphs when he did actually rock up to the place。 It can’t be easy to get the feel of a location that mostly is at the bottom of the sea or is a series of lumps and bumps in a field， but reading this I felt that he had researched these places mostly from a desk。 It was not bad overall， but I thought it could have been much better。 。。。more
Amy Byers
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Wow！！！！ I learned so much！！ I love it！！！！！ I want more！！！！！！
Andrea
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This is a well written， well researched book that takes you on a journey through some fascinating places in time。 Sometimes I felt that the sections were a bit long-winded and would have benefited from further editing， but this didn't detract too much from the enjoyment of the stories。 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e copy for review。 This is a well written， well researched book that takes you on a journey through some fascinating places in time。 Sometimes I felt that the sections were a bit long-winded and would have benefited from further editing， but this didn't detract too much from the enjoyment of the stories。 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e copy for review。 。。。more
Christine Best
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A historian’s journey through the deserted towns and villages of Britain: from a Neolithic village buried in sand to a Welsh village drowned beneath a reservoir。 Interesting enough but could have been more atmospheric。 My favourite section was the one on St Kilda。 Definitely one for history buffs rather than psychogeographers。
James Cunning
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Very enjoyable。 Found the tale of Capel Celyn most affecting， being more familiar with the others before I started。
Emily
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*Goodreads Giveaway Win***Was I interested in Britain's lost cities before I started this book？ No。 Did I become interested after reading this book？ Also no。 And YET I enjoyed this book。 The reason is Matthew Greens writing。 It had this gossipy feel to it that I found delightful。 Although I doubt I'll read more books about Britain's vanished villages I do doubt I'll be seeking out more books by Matthew Green。 *Goodreads Giveaway Win***Was I interested in Britain's lost cities before I started this book？ No。 Did I become interested after reading this book？ Also no。 And YET I enjoyed this book。 The reason is Matthew Greens writing。 It had this gossipy feel to it that I found delightful。 Although I doubt I'll read more books about Britain's vanished villages I do doubt I'll be seeking out more books by Matthew Green。 。。。more
Justin Neville
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An inspired concept - expertly and fascinatingly executed。
Christeen
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Skimmed as I've read most of the information from other sources previously。 Decent collection of sites and history。 Skimmed as I've read most of the information from other sources previously。 Decent collection of sites and history。 。。。more
Arthur Morrill III
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“Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain's Lost Cities and Vanished Villages，” by Matthew Green （ISBN: 9780393635348）， Publication Date: 19 Jul 2022， earns four stars for the narrative， but misses five stars because the book offers no maps and almost no photographs to support the riveting narrative， the addition of which would greatly help place the reader “there。”This is a fascinating series of stories about rediscovering Britain’s lost past by recounting the discovery of vanished villages， town “Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain's Lost Cities and Vanished Villages，” by Matthew Green （ISBN: 9780393635348）， Publication Date: 19 Jul 2022， earns four stars for the narrative， but misses five stars because the book offers no maps and almost no photographs to support the riveting narrative， the addition of which would greatly help place the reader “there。”This is a fascinating series of stories about rediscovering Britain’s lost past by recounting the discovery of vanished villages， towns， and cities throughout the British Isles。 Why did they disappear？ How did they disappear？ The answers are as varied as the towns themselves。 Some were covered in water; others were buried in sand。 For some， the land on which they stood eroded causing them to fall into the sea。 Some were abandoned due to the plague， others were taken over by the military for urban warfare training， and one was even unearthed by moles。Author Matthew Green’s exhaustive research and site visits take the reader on a most fascinating journey across Britain， delving into histories， archeology， urban design， the politics of discovery， and more， all the while bringing the occupants of these vanished towns to life by what we know of history， what they left behind， and in some cases， their own testimony。 It’s a great read。Thanks to the publisher， W。 W。 Norton & Company， for granting this reviewer this opportunity to read this Advance Reader Copy （ARC）， and thanks to NetGalley for helping to make that possible。 。。。more
Paul Taylor
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A disappointing book。 There has clearly been a great deal of research undertaken to produce this book; it is a shame that the writer has handled it rather clumsily。 Particular criticisms include the use of "purple prose" which is out of place in what is a scholarly book。 I say that the research is clumsily handled because at times it reads like:"look what I know， aren't I clever？"。 The hardback edition which I read had typographical errors including substituting the words gauged for gouged on tw A disappointing book。 There has clearly been a great deal of research undertaken to produce this book; it is a shame that the writer has handled it rather clumsily。 Particular criticisms include the use of "purple prose" which is out of place in what is a scholarly book。 I say that the research is clumsily handled because at times it reads like:"look what I know， aren't I clever？"。 The hardback edition which I read had typographical errors including substituting the words gauged for gouged on two occassions; maybe a victim of spellcheck。 Overall， despite a worthy concluding chapter the work feels laboured; perhaps a victim of being a lockdown project。 。。。more
Keith Sherratt
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A well intentioned set of stories badly let down by poor editing。The descriptions of life in each period seemed to grow more overblown as the book progressed。His use of sources is impressive but fact checking （helicopters in 1942） and inconsistencies of data throughout rather took the edge of my enjoyment and by the end I was becoming increasingly irritated。
LilyRose
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Shadowlands by Matthew Green is a haunting and heartfelt exploration of Britain’s vanished cities， towns and villages。 Each chapter explores a different place where once there was a thriving community there are now scarred remains and ruins， a ghostly impression of the past。 The author explores ancient Skara Brae， Dunwich， a medieval city that has been claimed by the sea storms in Suffolk， Capel Ceyln a drowned place and one of the last Welsh-speaking villages， and Trellech revealed by moles in Shadowlands by Matthew Green is a haunting and heartfelt exploration of Britain’s vanished cities， towns and villages。 Each chapter explores a different place where once there was a thriving community there are now scarred remains and ruins， a ghostly impression of the past。 The author explores ancient Skara Brae， Dunwich， a medieval city that has been claimed by the sea storms in Suffolk， Capel Ceyln a drowned place and one of the last Welsh-speaking villages， and Trellech revealed by moles in the Welsh Marches to name a few。 The prose is poetic and moving as the author resurrects and restores these lost places in the mind of the reader。 A beautiful collision of history， archaeology， architecture and geology for fans of nonfiction with heart。 4 Stars ✨。Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback。 。。。more
Robin
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This is a beautiful book， entertainingly written and fascinating in its subject。 Green's use of abandoned and lost towns as a symbol of the self in ruins and the world as it was is evocative and moving。 A number of places which I was unaware of were really interesting to read about stretching from places submerged by reservoir and sea or those lost to military use or sand storms。 St kilda was the one I was most familiar with and actually felt it was the weakest chapter but still worth reading。 R This is a beautiful book， entertainingly written and fascinating in its subject。 Green's use of abandoned and lost towns as a symbol of the self in ruins and the world as it was is evocative and moving。 A number of places which I was unaware of were really interesting to read about stretching from places submerged by reservoir and sea or those lost to military use or sand storms。 St kilda was the one I was most familiar with and actually felt it was the weakest chapter but still worth reading。 Recommended。 。。。more
Dan
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Another cool history of very specific places and people， definitely right in my wheelhouse。 Now I just need to find the very specific history of the Brewsters in England to know where I can claim my castle。。。
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher W。 W Norton for an advanced copy of this book on history and lost places。Humans have a habit of romanticizing the lost， the forgotten the hidden and the passed over。 Call it nostalgia， call it a longing for the days when " knew how to work and things were great and wonderful。" Some things are lost or put away for a reason， some are taken， some just disappear。 Humans hate a vaccum。 Finding something lost or omitted humans want to know more。 Who， what My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher W。 W Norton for an advanced copy of this book on history and lost places。Humans have a habit of romanticizing the lost， the forgotten the hidden and the passed over。 Call it nostalgia， call it a longing for the days when " knew how to work and things were great and wonderful。" Some things are lost or put away for a reason， some are taken， some just disappear。 Humans hate a vaccum。 Finding something lost or omitted humans want to know more。 Who， what when comes up and also are there more？ I think it might come down to a person wonders， if I was to disappear， would I be missed， would anyone search， would anyone care if I was never found， or even worse found。 Dr。 Matthew Green in his book Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain's Lost Cities and Vanished Villages writes about these places that maps might not show， bringing them back to life and giving them their history back and showing， yes somebody does care。 The book begins with a brief biography about the author， confessing that upon starting this book the author was feeling a bit lost himself。 There is a bit of discussion about Dunwich， a good Lovecraft name， a village that fell into the sea when a cliff collapsed， the sound of its church bell still playing they say。 This sets the mood for further cities destroyed by disaster， man made and natural and others that became ghost towns。 Each town is given a biography with interesting stories， including the tow Capel Celyn that was basically made a reservoir for the needs of others water。 Or a town that has taken on the many roles of enemy territory for British forces to train in from Germany， to Afghanistan。The book is wonderfully sourced and extremely interesting， with facts and fiction about the town， and other tidbits。 Dr。 Green did his research finding as much first hand sources as he could digging deep in archives to try and get the real story， and not the one that passes for real。 The writing is well nostalgic， there is no getting around that， with a lot of looking back but with a sense that everything can disapper or fade away， that we pride ourselves on remembering， but we can't remember what the last big news story was。 There is a lot to think about at the end of this book。A book for people who like lost places。 And based on books selling and podcasts being listened to there are a lot。 A very good history with a different look at places and what happen to them， be it plague or flood， or falling into the sea。 Recommended for fans of Robert Macfarlane's books like The Old Ways or Annalee Newitz Four Lost Cities， or for fans of what is invisible in our own cities like the book 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Kurt Kohlstedt and Roman Mars。 。。。more
Tony Brockhurst
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Fascinating， but the author seems to be a bit keen on showing us what a brilliant writer they are and in the process gets in the way of the subject matter。 Would make a really good historical fiction writer in my opinion。 Ended up skimming through the last half。
Sheila
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I received an ARC of， Shadowlands， by Matthew Green。 This was a text book instead of a novel。 It was a little dry for me， but well written。
Muaz Jalil
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Delightful book about lost cities towns and villages of UK。 The author is an Oxford historian。 The story of Trellech and amateur archeologists， Winchelsea port， Deserted Wharram Percy， or how dunwich disappeared off the cliff， st Kilda the post apocalyptic island， the military fake village: Stanford battle area， stanta， ishmara etc。 The saddest story is about the Welsh village of Capel Celyn and how it was submerged by Liverpool Corporation despite vehement oppositions。 I wish the book had more Delightful book about lost cities towns and villages of UK。 The author is an Oxford historian。 The story of Trellech and amateur archeologists， Winchelsea port， Deserted Wharram Percy， or how dunwich disappeared off the cliff， st Kilda the post apocalyptic island， the military fake village: Stanford battle area， stanta， ishmara etc。 The saddest story is about the Welsh village of Capel Celyn and how it was submerged by Liverpool Corporation despite vehement oppositions。 I wish the book had more pictures of the aforesaid locations。 。。。more
Charles Sheard
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