Local Authors

Tavistock Canal Poetry Trail Guide

by Simon Dell

This charming little guide to the Tavistock Canal Poetry Trail starts with a brief history of the canal written by Simon Dell. This sets the scene for the poetry trail and gives valuable background information on why the canal was built by the mining engineer John Taylor. This was initially to transport copper ores from the Wheal Friendship mining complex at Mary Tavy to the port of Morwellham on the navigable River Tamar. The canal was deliberately built on an incline which generated a current, meaning that only one horse was needed to transport the ores from Tavistock to Morwellham, but two were needed to pull barges back against the flow. The current was also used as a source of power for waterwheels for agriculture along the length of the canal... Today the flowing water is used as a source of energy to generate hydroelectricity which feeds into the National Grid. The canal builders also aimed to exploit any ores, particularly copper, found while blasting out the canal tunnel. The canal took from 1803 to 1817 to complete with fourteen years spent on the tunnel. This also involved some mining operations at Wheal Crebor and Crowndale. The Poetry Trail Guide chapter written by James Crowden walks you along the length of the canal from Abbey Bridge, passing Drake’s statue and his birthplace at Crowndale. The chapter also details the schools involved in generating the poetry in 2002 and 2012 from workshops led by James Crowden. It points out all the places where there are plaques bearing poetry. These poems were all written by the children and were inspired by the canal itself and the mysterious magic which it generates as it flows quietly by. The poems enrich the experience of a walk along the canal. The chapter ends with a poem by James Crowden at the point where it is no longer permitted to walk the canal and is a tribute to John Taylor. Available at Tavistock Visitor Information Centre

Tavistock Canal Poetry Trail Guide

Figures in a Frame by Dan Bishop

Having spent 40 fulfilling years performing Punch & Judy for a living, I decided it was time to ease off a little. Mr Punch has been good to me, providing the chance to meet many memorable people over the years, make lasting friendships, and travel to amazing places. So, what better subject to write about than Mr Punch? And where better to commence than in London in 1789: the time of the early days of the street Punch & Joan show, the Italian showman Giovanni Piccini, and the onset of the French Revolution?

The novel is written in four parts, set in London and France in times of social turbulence, unrest and war between 1789 and 1828. The story revolves around the central character of 28-year-old Eddy Adams, and begins in Newgate Prison, where he and a French puppet showman, Henri Castillou, are both awaiting execution. Following their escape with the help of the enigmatic Calvert, and separated from Henri, Eddy initially becomes entangled with a band of highway robbers, leading to an affair with one of their number - an extraordinary woman called Rumer. He then subsequently falls in with Italian street puppeteer Giovanni Piccini… Published by United Writers on 15th October 2021: ISBN 9781852002039; £12.95 (paperback); available at Book Stop, Tavistock and at www.unitedwriters.co.uk

Princetown & the Conscientious Objectors of WW1 by Pip Barker

Over 16,000 men refused to fight in World War One and became known as Conscientious Objectors. Their initial incarceration in prison was deemed unsuitable for many and they were then sent to work centres to be engaged on work of national importance. One such work centre was in the village of Princetown, Devon - home of the notorious Dartmoor prison. This book explores its change of purpose to that of Dartmoor Work Centre, and the daily life, type of work, and health of COs held there. It also looks at the impact of their arrival on the local community and the attitudes of the village

residents towards them when the COs ventured into the local environs. This factual account, well documented with source quotes, offers an insight into the lives of the Dartmoor Work Centre inhabitants at that time in Princetown, corroborated by the CO’s own written work and accounts, government legislation, staff views, and postcards from the author’s own collection. It finishes by examining what happened to these men at the end of the war and their eventual release.

Available for £8.99 at Princetown National Park Centre, Princetown Prison Museum, www.austinmacauley.com, WHSmith, Waterstones & Amazon

Hell Unearthed by Hilary McElwaine

Hell Unearthed charts Dante’s journey, guided by his hero, Virgil, through the underworld. In this modern version of Inferno, the cast of sinners Dante meets includes gangsters, dictators, pop stars, sports stars, princes and princesses. These characters’ stories will be familiar to many and they sit alongside sinners drawn from classical mythology as well as the heroes and villains from Dante’s contemporary medieval Tuscany. The tormented souls we witness prompt many questions: Do we really suffer for our wrongdoings after we have died? What is happiness? What is it to achieve greatness in life, and how it that greatness viewed in the afterlife? How should we live our lives to ensure happiness or salvation after we die? What makes society and local communities strong? The message remains the same as Dante’s original. Happiness is achieved through peace and stability in government with clear moral guidance coming from a spiritual power. We need to nurture our relationships with others in society and be mindful of causing harm. What we achieve in life, and how, will ultimately be judged by God. Hell Unearthed expands Dante’s world to show that people across geographical, cultural and religious divides can be guilty of the same human failings. Recognition of the universality of sin should be a unifying process and that was certainly also Dante’s intention with Inferno. Dante completed the Divine Comedy 700 years ago in 1320, a year before he died. It is one of the greatest works of literature of all time. As TS Eliot said: “Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them. There is no third.”

Available at Book Stop, Tavistock and in various formats on Amazon

Design & Build • Renovations Extensions • New Builds