Thames: Sacred River, by the bestselling author of London: The Biography, is about the river from source to sea. It covers history from prehistoric times to present; the flora & fauna of the river; paintings & photographs inspired by the Thames; its geology, smells & colour; its literature, laws & landscapes; its magic & myths; its architecture, trade & weather. This book meanders gloriously, rather as the river does itself: here are Toad of Toad Hall & Julius Caesar, Henry VIII & Shelley, Turner & Three Men in a Boat. The reader learns about the fishes that swam in the river & the boats that plied on its surface; about floods & tides; hauntings & suicides; sewers, miasmas & malaria; locks, weirs & embankments; bridges, docks & places. All the towns & villages along the river’s 215-mile length are described. Peter Ackroyd has a genius for digging out the most surprising & entertaining details, & for writing about them in the most magisterial prose.