Craftland

An impassioned and inspiring account of the extraordinary men and women still doing traditional artisanal work in Britain * Sunday Times, Book of the Week *Craftland is a book that shimmers with love for a dwindling world of meticulous, patient labour … Lyrical … Deftly written and well researched * Guardian *Superb … A book with many highlights … [Fox] brings his critical intelligence to platform the usually silent process of mastering a craft. I read the book with admiration not only for the remarkable subjects individually, but also the human spirit that unites them all * New Statesman *If you want to know about Britain and yourself, read this book … This is a tremendous book that urges us – in spite of the seductions of crass modernity – to believe in the craftspeople, living and dead, who made us who we are. * Spectator *Meet the weavers, watchmakers and wheelwrights keeping Britain’s noble craft traditions alive … Fox effortlessly persuades the reader about the superiority of all things crafted * Mail on Sunday *Utterly enchanting – Amol Rajan * BBC Radio 4 Today *This hugely absorbing book is so full of stories of crafts and craftspeople and communities, and of creativity over the ages. It’s such an important story to tell and told so compellingly. Wonderful – Michael Morpurgo, author of War HorseA joy – Edmund de WaalBeautiful, eye-opening and surprisingly moving - a treat to treasure – Lucy Worsley, author of Jane Austen at HomeCraftland offers insights into the future as well as the past. It is a close-up study of human work which arrives in a moment when we’re all trying to understand what that means – Ian Leslie, author of John and PaulA beautifully crafted book – akin to the beautifully crafted objects it describes … What a treat to discover facts and stories that feed the heart and prove that craft is as ever present as it has forever been – Kate Malone, ceramistIt is so rare to come across a book brimming with fresh news and seasoned with hope. James Fox uncovers a largely hidden history which is still alive all around us today. I read it in two gulps with delight – Andrew Marr, author and journalistA dazzling combination of evocative prose and meticulous research, Craftland is an impassioned undertaking and novel portrait of the country’s past and how we might rethink our future – Kate Bryan, art historianThis extraordinary book is essential reading. It will leave you awestruck at the complexity and persistence of the crafts that shaped our world, and inspired to engage more deeply with our vanishing material world of objects and skills. Anyone who has ever felt a disconnection from modern life will find themselves irresistibly drawn in – Xand Van TullekenBrillian[t] … I recommend that the book be read slowly, section by section, so all the details can be appreciated * Literary Review *Cambridge art historian James Fox considers our heritage of artisanal labour, and documents those who are struggling to keep it alive. His accounts of such work are often thrilling * The Week *Craftland teems with detail … [It] is a tour through the world of British craft … Fox is very good at putting objects and materials into words * Financial Times *[Craftland] explores the lives of those whose devotion to craft is as compelling as what they create … The author succeeds in defining the new role of craft in a world where machines appear to be eclipsing both the brain and the hand * Country Life *Fox[’s] approach brings distinct strengths, allowing him to give first-hand accounts of an impressive range of subjects – and to tease out stories that might otherwise never be told … The success of Fox’s book lies in his deft interleaving of makers’ words with reflections on materials and on the historical significance of individual crafts … These layers result in a cultural history of crafts carried on throughout the UK, along with an extended examination of the past’s relationship to the present; they make for a richly satisfying read * Times Literary Supplement *Beautifully written … Mr. Fox has carefully rooted through economic history as well as roamed through the countryside in search of traditional artisans … His chronicle of the decline of the traditional trades is staggering, if not exactly surprising … Craftland may be read as a … tour of a vanished civilization … But it is also an echo of an important chapter in the story of British nonfiction, reminiscent especially of the work of Ronald Blythe - the author of Akenfield (1969) and The View in Winter (1979) - who was touchingly sensitive to the psychology and creativity of old people living in the countryside * Wall Street Journal *

James Fox is an academic and multi-award-winning, BAFTA-nominated broadcaster, known for his many acclaimed BBC documentaries. He is Director of Studies in History of Art at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and Creative Director of the Hugo Burge Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting the arts and crafts across Britain. He is also the author of the celebrated The World According to Colour- A Cultural History.

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