Landscape with Canals: An Autobiography

The Landscape Trilogy #2

by L.T.C. Rolt

Paperback in good condition. The cover is lightly scored and shelfworn. A few light marks on the page block. Sticker on inside front cover. The binding is sound; all content is clear. CM

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt (usually abbreviated to Tom Rolt or L.T.C. Rolt) was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Telford. He is also regarded as one of the pioneers of the leisure cruising industry on Britain's inland waterways, and as an enthusiast for both vintage cars and heritage railways.

Reviews

[Stephen Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume in the three that comprise the autobiography of L.T.C. Rolt, and as the name suggests, it is the one that focusses most closely on the canals. It is an interesting read, but a frustrating one too. He makes the wise decision as an autobiographer not to reveal too much about elements of his personal life (notably his marriage break up) or his split with the Inland Waterways Association. He makes the wise choice as an author not to replicate material he has already published in other volumes.

As a result, however, this book, while still being an interesting account of a complex person with a varied life, feels distinctly incomplete.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book, I read it in then 1980s and it was even better on the second reading.