Ramlin Rose: The Boatwoman's Story

by David M. Miller (Illustrator), Sheila Stewart (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1993

  $10.27

  From the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution to the late 1950s, horse-drawn narrow boats were a familiar sight on Britain's canals. Carrying a wide variety of cargoes to such destinations as the Potteries, the textile mills of Lancashire, and the papermills of Croxley, narrow boats were of vital importance to the country's economy, yet little has been recorded about the lives of the canal families - in particular the women. Drawing on extensive interviews with boatwomen born and bred on the Oxford Canal, Sheila Stewart here recalls country fairs and courtships, family tragedies, the hardships endured during the Depression, dangerous journeys to munitions factories during the World War II, and the decline of the canals after 1945. Full of poignant personal stories of astonishing courage and resilience, this compelling book captures a unique way of life during the first sixty years of this century.

• Used

  Paperback
  1994

  $11.94

  From the turn of the century to the late 1950s horse-drawn narrow-boats became a rarer and rarer sight on Britain's canals. Carrying a wide variety of cargoes to such destinations as the Potteries, the textile mills of Lancashire, the papermills of London, the colleges of Oxford, they struggled on against increasing competition from rail and road traffic to maintain their place in the country's economy. Yet little has been written abou the families who lived and worked on these boats - in particular the women. Drawing on recorded interviews with the few boatwomen left who were born and bred on horse-drawn boats, Sheila Stewart has recounted their experiences as seen through the eyes of an illiterate boatwoman, travelling mainly on the Oxford Canal through the Great War, the Depression, the Second World War, and the decline of the canals. It is a poignant account of astonishing courage and resilience, capturing a unique way of life during the first sixty years of this century.