A post-colonial history of the destruction of the Fens of eastern England.
James Boyce is a multi-award-winning Australian historian. His
first book, Van Diemen's Land, was described by Richard Flanagan as
'the most significant colonial history since The Fatal Shore'.
1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia was
The Age's Book of the Year, while Born Bad: Original Sin and the
Making of the Western World was hailed by The Washington Post as
'an exhilarating work of popular scholarship'.
A real page-turner ... a warning about what happens when the rich
and powerful dress up their avarice as "progress" - a lesson we
could do with learning today.
*BBC Countryfile magazine*
This book goes straight into my shortlist of books of the year for
2020: no doubt about it. I wish I had written this book but since I
didn't, I'm very glad that someone else did so that I could read
it. [M]y best read of 2020 so far ... a strong historical account
of land use change which any nature conservationist should
read.
*Mark Avery*
Like Patagonia, 'the Fens' has no precise border. This bountiful
wetland on the English east coast is a region that most maps cover
with a blank. In a masterful and painstaking act of retrieval,
James Boyce reclaims the landscape of his fiercely independent
forebears. The Fennish, like most indigenous people, left few
written records - an absence that makes Imperial Mud even more
valuable, as a celebration of their centuries-long resistance
against drainage and enclosing landlords; and, above all, of their
utterly passionate relationship with the 'common' marsh through
which they defined their identity.
*Nicholas Shakespeare*
Boyce tells the tale with that rare but always winning combination
of passion and scholarly vigour.
*Geographical Magazine (Book of the Month)*
Evocative and imaginatively argued
*Sydney Morning Herald, 'Pick of the Week'*
A wonderful example of history writing embedded in the narratives
of place, in this instance the Fenlands of England and its people,
both dramatically altered in the name of dubious progress.
*Australian Book Review, Books of the Year 2020*
A lively, affectionate, colourful account of individuals from all
walks of life living their lives and particularly standing up for
themselves with passion, control and careful planning.
*Resurgence & Ecologist*
In telling the story of the people and the lost wetlands, Boyce has
provided robust scholarship and rigour which combines with
passionate writing to bring the account to a wider audience. In
short this volume is incredibly readable as well as being
wonderfully entertaining, and not least, informative.
*Environment and History*
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