A fine shipwreck has always represented sport, pleasure, treasure, and in many cases, the difference between living well and just getting by. Though it is the Cornish who became most notorious for wrecking, coastal communities throughout Britain regarded as the 'sea's bounty' as an impromptu way of providing themselves with everything from grapefruits to grand pianos. Some plunderers were supposed to be so skilled that they could strip a ship from stem to stern before the Coastguard had left port, some were supposed to lure ships onto the rocks with false lights, some simply waited for winter gales to do their work. 'For a fully laden general cargo to run to ground in an accessible position is more or less like having Selfridges crash-land in your back garden,' writes Bella Bathurst, 'a Selfridges with the prices removed'.
From all around Britain, Bathurst has uncovered the secret history of ships and shipwreck victims, from shoreline orgies so Dionysian that few participants survived until morning to crofts fitted with silver candelabra, and from coastlines rigged like stage sets to the strange tale of Britain's Royal Fish. Spanning three hundred years of history, 'The Wreckers' examines the myths, realities and the superstitions of shipwrecks, and uncovers the darker side of life on England's shores.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. False Lights
2. Goodwin Sands
3. Pentland Firth
4. Scilly Isles
5. West Coast
6. Roysl Fish
7. Cornwall
8. East Coast
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index
