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A review by saareman
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys
4.0
Frozen in Time
A review of the Emblem Editions paperback (October 7, 2008) of the original McClelland & Stewart hardcover (October 16, 2007).
This is a delightful series of short vignettes, 2-3 pages or so each. They are snapshots of events, usually based on some historic record, which Helen Humphreys has then fictionalized to tell as a short story. It starts with Empress Matilda's escape over the frozen river Isis (the name of the Thames in Oxford) in 1142. It carries on with either events involving Royalty or with common people and merchants. Many of these centre around the Frost Fairs of entertainments organized on the frozen river. The final year portrayed is 1895.
Thames Frost Fair (1683-84) painting by Thomas Wyke. Image sourced from Historic-UK.
The river was wider and moved slower in those days. The old London Bridge also acted as a barrier and would slow the waters further, allowing the freeze to happen in the main channel. Although the newer London Bridges allow for faster water passage and make for a narrowed river, there are still sections that freeze over, see the photo below for instance.
A section of the frozen Thames in the winter of 1962-63. Image sourced from Pinterest.
Footnote, Trivia and Links
* The Thames would have of course have frozen over many times before the year 1142 which is the first year of the 40 used in this book. So it would be more accurate to say 40 times since 1141 perhaps, or 40 times in the historical records of the last millennium. The Wikipedia article about Thames Frost Fairs mentions a freeze in the year 695 for instance.
Read more about the Thames Frost Fairs at a Wikipedia article here.
A review of the Emblem Editions paperback (October 7, 2008) of the original McClelland & Stewart hardcover (October 16, 2007).
In its long history, the river Thames has frozen solid forty times. These are the stories of that frozen river.* - The book's Introduction.
This is a delightful series of short vignettes, 2-3 pages or so each. They are snapshots of events, usually based on some historic record, which Helen Humphreys has then fictionalized to tell as a short story. It starts with Empress Matilda's escape over the frozen river Isis (the name of the Thames in Oxford) in 1142. It carries on with either events involving Royalty or with common people and merchants. Many of these centre around the Frost Fairs of entertainments organized on the frozen river. The final year portrayed is 1895.
Thames Frost Fair (1683-84) painting by Thomas Wyke. Image sourced from Historic-UK.
The river was wider and moved slower in those days. The old London Bridge also acted as a barrier and would slow the waters further, allowing the freeze to happen in the main channel. Although the newer London Bridges allow for faster water passage and make for a narrowed river, there are still sections that freeze over, see the photo below for instance.
A section of the frozen Thames in the winter of 1962-63. Image sourced from Pinterest.
Footnote, Trivia and Links
* The Thames would have of course have frozen over many times before the year 1142 which is the first year of the 40 used in this book. So it would be more accurate to say 40 times since 1141 perhaps, or 40 times in the historical records of the last millennium. The Wikipedia article about Thames Frost Fairs mentions a freeze in the year 695 for instance.
Read more about the Thames Frost Fairs at a Wikipedia article here.