Wight books is an online list of local books available, covering a range of topics. The author’s works are varied, covering the life and works of Tennyson, Queen Victoria, the topography of the Island, guide books and much more. The list is not comprehensive and there are more books available, so enquiries are welcome if you do not see what you are looking for.
The site itself.
The site contains a varied list of Isle of Wight books from the early 19th
century right up to the more recent publications. There are hard backed and
paperback books, varying in age, condition and price from near £100 to a
Pound or so.
Wight books book search.
To assist readers that are looking for particular books, I can offer to
search for those elusive copies. I make no promises, but will do my utmost
to find them. There is no charge for this service.
Isle of Wight in general.
The Isle of Wight is located in the English Channel due south of
Southampton
and Portsmouth. The Island is separated from the Hampshire coast by waters
known as the Solent.
The Island has been separated from the mainland since dinosaur times and
one
of its main attractions is the crossing, whether by passenger ferry, car
ferry, hydrofoil, catamaran or hovercraft.
Measuring just 23 miles by 13 miles, the island supports about 130,000
people. The main employers are shipbuilders, aircraft builders,
communications workers, market gardeners and more recently those involved
with the production of plastics products. Of course, there are three of Her
Majesties Prisons on the Island with their attendant staff and inmates.
The main ports are Ryde, Cowes and Yarmouth, all are gateways to the
Island,
busy all year, but exceptionally so during the Summer months.
The Island's history is documented from the early Roman times, but it is
from the 17th Century, that more is recorded for us and available to this
day. King Charles 1 and his incarceration in Carisbrooke Castle is of
great
interest in those times. In the late 18th century the Island began to be
visited and enjoyed. When the pier at Ryde was built, the numbers
increased
and visitor numbers increased greatly. A railway network was built giving
access to most of the interior.
From this time on, the number of books written extolling the beauties of
the
Isle of Wight and guiding the visitor around, grew rapidly.
In the middle and late 19th century, during Queen Victoria's times, whilst
she was living for some of the time at Osborne House at East Cowes, the
Isle
of Wight became better known to the general public on the mainland.
Great
poets such as the Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson and writers such as Lewis
Carroll were causing the Island to buzz with literary and artistic
creativity.In the early 20th Century and on, the visitor numbers increased, into two
world wars, the Island helped produce aeroplanes, ships and other craft.
Later the hovercraft was born here. In the 1960's the rail network was
decimated by the infamous Dr Beeching.
So there was a wealth of material for the writer on the Island. The
editors
of the guide books had plenty to tell. More books have apparently been
written about the Island than in any other place in the UK outside London.
The books can be found, from the magnificent engravers illustrations of
George Brannon, the works of Englefield, Barber, Calvert and many more.
The
guide books to the Island, including the Ward Lock guides, ran every year
from the late 1870's through to 1981, giving an amazing changing insight
and
update to Island life.
