Wainwright Revealed

by Richard Else

It was the most unlikely of relationships. Britain's most distinguished guidebook writer, a man in his late seventies and a young, inexperienced documentary film-maker who was less than half his age. Yet Richard Else persuaded Alfred Wainwright out of the shadows and onto the nation's television screens. In doing so, the highly reclusive Wainwright became the most unlikely of celebrities and his films with Eric Robson were amongst the most popular programmes on the small screen. Wainwright Revealed is not simply the inside story of those films - films that, Richard argues, did more than anything else to spawn today's Wainwright 'industry'. It also explores how, for the first and only time in his life, Wainwright agreed to work collaboratively with another person. Richard provides a new insight into AW's achievement, his place in the tradition of guidebook writing and into a life that was essentially solitary. Richly illustrated with over 70 photographs, the book explores the forces that motivated Wainwright - forces which AW almost certainly did not fully understand - and uncovers a more complex individual than previously thought.

192 pages, Hardcover

Published November 9, 2017

Reviews

[Rob Hardie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful and nicely digestible book about AW from an author who clearly got to know him and his wife Betty very well over the years. Accompanied by some lovely photography, I found much to enjoy here as a walker, Lakeland native and fan of the Guides.