The Portrait of books is a series of

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

works describing the cities,

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, and regions of Britain and some of the regions of France. The series was published by Robert Hale from the late 1960s to the early 1980s and is part of a genre of topographical books in which Robert Hale specialised."Rural Mappings"
by Catherine Brace in Its immediate predecessors were the County Books and Regional Books series while the Regions of Britain series was published contemporaneously in the 1970s. There was also a Villages series. A number of the Portrait series were republished in new editions titled "The Illustrated Portrait of...". Described variously as neither literature, a history, or a guide book, the works attempted to sum-up the atmosphere of their area, and "the lives of its people, past and present"."Love of the country" by

Mary Cosh Ethel Eleanor Mary Cosh, FSA (3 March 1919 – 17 December 2019) was a British freelance journalist and local historian who was known for her works on the history of Islington, London. Her book, ''A History of Islington'' (2005), was the first ...

, ''The Times'', 30 May 1980, p. I.

List of titles

This is an incomplete list of titles. Each title was prefixed with the words "Portrait of". * ''Aberdeen and Deeside, with Aberdeenshire, Banff and Kincardine'' by Cuthbert Graham (1972) * ''Argyll and Southern Hebrides'' by David Graham-Campbell (1978) * ''Avon'' by

John Haddon John Haddon (1845 – 1924) was a Scottish physician, dietitian and vegetarianism activist. Biography Haddon's father was Andrew Haddon (1818–1894), his mother was Anne White (1821–1878) and he had ten siblings. He was educated at the Uni ...

(1981) * ''Bath'' by John Haddon (1982) * ''Bedfordshire'' by David H. Kennett (1978) * ''Birmingham'' by Vivian Bird * ''The Border Country'' by

Nigel Tranter Nigel Tranter OBE (23 November 1909 – 9 January 2000) was a writer of a wide range of books on castles, particularly on themes of architecture and history. He also specialised in deeply researched historical novels that cover centuries of Sco ...

(1972) (Revised 1987 as ''The Illustrated Portrait of the Border Country'') * ''Brecon Beacons and Surrounding Areas'' by Edmund. J. Mason (1975) * ''Bristol'' by Keith Brace (1971) (2nd edition 1976) * ''Broadland'' by Stanley Arthur Manning (1980) * ''Buckinghamshire'' by John Camp (1972) * ''Burns Country and Galloway &c.'' by Hugh Douglas (1968) * ''Cambridge'' by Charles Richard Benstead (1968) * ''Cambridgeshire'' by Stanley Arthur Manning * ''Canterbury'' by John Boyle * ''The Channel Islands'' by Raoul Lempriere * ''Cheshire'' by David Bethel * ''Chester'' by David Bethel * ''The Clyde'' by Jack House * ''Cornwall'' by Claude Berry * ''The Cotswolds'' by Edith Brill * ''Coventry'' by E. B. Newbold * ''The Dales'' by Norman Duerden (1978) * ''Dartmoor'' by Vian Smith * ''The River Derwent'' by Walt Unsworth * ''Devon'' by D. St. Leger-Gordon * ''Dorset'' by

Ralph Wightman Ralph Wightman (26 July 1901 – 28 May 1971) was an English lecturer, journalist, author, and radio and television broadcaster. He wrote many books on farming and the countryside and in the 1950s and 1960s became a well-known national figure, esp ...

* ''County Durham'' by Peter A. White * ''Edinburgh'' by

Ian Nimmo Ian Nimmo (born 25 July 1985) is a Scottish rugby union player who plays as a lock forward. Nimmo moved to Perthshire, Scotland at the age of 14. He has been capped by Scotland at Under 19 and Under 20 levels and was included in the Scotland un ...

* ''Epping Forest'' by Sir William Addison * ''Essex'' by Stanley Arthur Manning * ''Exmoor'' by

J. H. B. Peel John Hugh Brignal Peel (4 November 1913 – 22 May 1983) was a British journalist, author and poet, writing, as J. H. B. Peel, about farming and the countryside. From the 1960s, he wrote a fortnightly essay, "Country Talk", for the '' Daily Tele ...

* ''The Fen Country'' by

Edward Storey Edward Storey (28 February 1930 – 18 November 2018), was an English poet, dramatist and non-fiction writer. He was born at Whittlesey, part of the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire. The Fens inspired much of his work. Early career Before becomin ...

* ''Glasgow'' by Maurice Lindsay * ''Gloucestershire'' by T. A. Ryder * ''Gower'' by

Wynford Vaughan-Thomas Lewis John Wynford Vaughan-Thomas (Given name#Name at birth, né Thomas) (15 August 1908 – 4 February 1987) was a Welsh newspaper journalist and radio and television broadcaster. In later life he took the name Vaughan-Thomas after his fath ...

* ''Hertfordshire'' by Brian J. Bailey * ''The Highlands'' by

W. Douglas Simpson William Douglas Simpson CBE (2 August 1896 – 9 October 1968) was a Scotland, Scottish academic and writer who focused on the study of medieval architecture and archaeology. Career Simpson was appointed Assistant in History at the Univers ...

* ''The Isle of Man'' by Ernest H. Stenning * ''The Isle of Wight'' by

Lawrence Wilson Lawrence Jamel Wilson (born November 16, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He finished his collegiate career second in tackles all-time for the Huskies. In both his junior and senior seasons, he led the Big East in tackles and was ...

* ''The Isles of Scilly'' by Clive Mumford * ''The Lakes'' by

Norman Nicholson Norman Cornthwaite Nicholson (8 January 1914 – 30 May 1987) was an English poet associated with the Cumbrian town of Millom. His poetry is noted for local concerns, straightforward language, and elements of common speech. Although known chief ...

* ''Lancashire'' by Jessica Lofthouse * ''Leeds'' by

Brian Thompson Brian Earl Thompson (born August 28, 1959) is an American actor. His career began with a small role in the 1984 film ''The Terminator''. He played the villainous "Night Slasher" in the 1986 film '' Cobra''. His first named role was on ''Werew ...

* ''Leicestershire'' by Brian J. Bailey * ''Liverpool'' by Howard Channon * ''London River'' by Basil E. Cracknell * ''Manchester'' by Michael Kennedy * ''The Moray Firth'' by Cuthbert Graham (1977) * ''The New Forest'' by

Brian Vesey-FitzGerald Brian Seymour Vesey-Fitzgerald (1900-1981) was a naturalist and writer of books on wildlife, cats, and dogs. Life and work Vesey-Fitzgerald began his career as a journalist with Reuters. He then became the naturalist on the staff of ''The Field ...

* ''Norfolk'' by David Yaxley * ''Northamptonshire'' by Peter Gorham Webb * ''Northumberland'' by Nancy Ridley (1965) (2nd Edition 1968) * ''The Spey'' by Francis G. Thompson * ''Wiltshire'' by Pamela Street (1971) (2nd edition 1980) * ''Wye Valley'' by Harry Luff Verne Fletcher (1968)"The trees, bushes and windows are alive", ''The Times'', 30 November 1968, p. 22.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Portrait of book series * Series of non-fiction books Books about the United Kingdom

List of titles

See also

References

External links