In its long history, the river Thames has frozen solid forty times. These are the stories of that frozen river. & so opens this breathtaking & original work of forty vignettes based on events that actually took place each time the river froze between 1142 & 1895. In breathtaking prose, acclaimed novelist Helen Humphreys deftly draws us into these intimate moments & transports us through time. Whether it`s Queen Matilda trying to escape her besieged castle in a snowstorm, or lovers meeting on the frozen river in the plague years, or a simple farmer persuading his oxen that the ice is safe, Humphrey`s achingly beautiful prose acts like a photograph, capturing a moment & etching it forever on our imaginations. Stunningly designed & illustrated throughout with full-colour period art, The Frozen Thames is a genre-bending work from one of our most respected writers.