The Vanished Landscape : A 1930s Childhood in the Potteries

by Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson, the celebrated historian, grew up in Tunstall, one of the six towns around Stoke-on-Trent that made up the Potteries'. From an early age he was fascinated by the strange beauty of its volcanic landscape of fiery furnaces belching out heat and smoke. As a child he often accompanied his father - headmaster of the local art school and desperate to find jobs for his students, for this was the Hungry Thirties - to the individual pottery firms and their coal-fired ovens. His adored mother and father are at the heart of this story and his older sisters who, as much as his parents, brought him up. Children made their own amusements to an extent unimaginable today, and his life was extraordinarily free and unsupervised. No door was locked - Poverty was everywhere but so were the Ten Commandments.' The book ends in 1938 as the 11-year-old author queues at the town-hall for a gas mask.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Paul Johnson works as a historian, journalist and author. He was educated at Stonyhurst School in Clitheroe, Lancashire and Magdalen College, Oxford, and first came to prominence in the 1950s as a journalist writing for, and later editing, the New Statesman magazine. He has also written for leading newspapers and magazines in Britain, the US and Europe.

Paul Johnson has published over 40 books including A History of Christianity (1979), A History of the English People (1987), Intellectuals (1988), The Birth of the Modern: World Society, 1815—1830 (1991), Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the Year 2000 (1999), A History of the American People (2000), A History of the Jews (2001) and Art: A New History (2003) as well as biographies of Elizabeth I (1974), Napoleon (2002), George Washington (2005) and Pope John Paul II (1982).

Reviews

[Anibalector · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike other book he`s written, this is extremly melancholic and very peaceful. A book about the Arcadia of childhood through the eyes of the kid he used to be. Captivating lecture. Highly recommend it.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Johnson's writing is sublime and his memories of a 1930's childhood are detailed and riveting. I was enthralled by every page and felt I was actually there in the Potteries. Highly recommended!

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this story and the description of stoke when the pot banks were still firing is brilliant. I also loved the accounts of the various characters in his life. well worth a read.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Vanished Landscape was passed on to me from a friend quite some time ago now. It has been on my bookshelf for far too long, but I’m so glad I finally got the chance to read it. It is such a wonderful read about the old Potteries in a time I can only imagine. This is Paul’s story of growing up in the 1930’s when The Potteries truly lived up to its name. I was born in Stoke-on-Trent and raised in Newcastle-under-Lyme (where I live again now), so every place Paul talks about I know exactly where he means, although I can’t quite imagine how it must have looked back then. The Potteries are quite different these days.
I loved that Paul is the youngest sibling, born when his parents were that bit older. They talked to him all the time, about everything. They seemed to have unwavering patience with all their children and come across as a lovely family. The way Paul interprets some of the things they tell him as a 4/5-year-old is quite endearing and I smiled a lot throughout this book. His mother was a fascinating character!
I had to smile also when those from Newcastle-under-Lyme are referred to as “snobby” and not from the “proper potteries”. I’m sure people did think like that then as some still do now! I know many people from Newcastle-under-Lyme who are quite offended if someone suggests they live in Stoke. Lol! They are right though. Newcastle-under-Lyme is not Stoke-on-Trent. We have our own council. It’s just easier to say you’re from Stoke to people who often don’t realise Newcastle-under-Lyme exists.
Anyway, as well as being a heartfelt account of a happy childhood this book is steeped in local history. I learned a lot along the way and thoroughly enjoyed every page.
If you live in, or are local to, The Potteries I think you will love this memoir. If you don’t live anywhere near here but you’re interested in history at all then I think you will love it just the same.
I highly recommend.
Many thanks to my friend, Clare Baker, for passing it on to me.

https://chataboutbooks.blog/2021/06/0...

[Simon Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five stars is one of the most subjective ratings I’ve given due to the personal connection to the book. I grew up on the road next to where the author lived and his stories of the park and the visits to the towns that make up the city of Stoke on Trent were fascinating.

[Busyknitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming account of a happy 1930s childhood, with added details of life in the Potteries.