BATH by Kirsten Elliott & Neill Menneer

Over 200 full colour photographs
Price: £25
ISBN: 0711222665
Publiser: Frances Lincoln

This book tells the full story of the beautiful, world famous city of Bath in England’s West Country. Bath is an architectural jewel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a vibrant modern city and this book celebrates every angle of its history since the Romans first came to worship at the mysterious hot spring inhabited by the deity Sulis.

Kirsten Elliott’s fascinating text and Neill Menneer’s stunningly beautiful photographs bring the story of Bath alive, as they trace its growth from Roman Bath, through the bawdy days of Chaucer’s Wife of Bath, to the Palladian invasion and the extraordinary boom times of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century.

Kirsten Elliott introduces us to some of the famous characters who’ve had connections with the city, including Dr William Oliver, inventor of the Bath Oliver biscuit, Gainsborough, Nelson, Jane Austen - of course – as well as many more. She also tells the stories of the poor, from the soldiers who travelled from Rome and further east, to the intriguing tale of Mr Sutton, secondhand clothes dealer, who on his deathbed in 1744 makes a confession. He declares that he is not ‘he’ at all, but a woman who decided to dress as a man at the age of fourteen. ‘The Bath Journal, like any good tabloid newspaper, will trumpet the story in its pages after her death.’

Kirsten Elliott and Neill Menneer’s words and pictures take you behind the façade to reveal the story of a little Somerset town that has become a world famous city. BATH is a book that will be a joy to anyone who already loves the place and a must for any visitor.