Synopses & Reviews
Located in the heart of Englandandrsquo;s Lake District, the placid waters of Thirlmere seem to be the embodiment of pastoral beauty. But under their calm surface lurks the legacy of a nineteenth-century conflict that pitted industrial progress against natural conservationandmdash;and helped launch the environmental movement as we know it. Purchased by the city of Manchester in the 1870s, Thirlmere was dammed and converted into a reservoir, its water piped one hundred miles south to the burgeoning industrial city and its workforce. This feat of civil engineeringandmdash;and of natural resource diversionandmdash;inspired one of the first environmental struggles of modern times. The Dawn of Green re-creates the battle for Thirlmere and the clashes between conservationists who wished to preserve the lake and developers eager to supply the needs of a growing urban population. Bringing to vivid life the colorful and strong-minded characters who populated both sides of the debate, noted historian Harriet Ritvo revisits notions of the natural promulgated by romantic poets, recreationists, resource managers, and industrial developers to establish Thirlmere as the template for subsequentandmdash;and continuingandmdash;environmental struggles.
Review
andquot;[Ritvo's] book conveys in vividly minute particulars how difficult and frustrating the campaign must have been, and how divided the campaigners were in their loyalties. Without such detail, lessons cannot be learnt. Nor is documentation allowed to obscure the larger picture. Ritvo shows the whole business to be, in contrary ways, representative of its times: 'if Manchester was the icon of the Victorian future, the Lake District was the icon of nature, poetry and heritage.'andquot;andmdash;Times Higher Education
Review
"In the 1870s, Manchester, England purchased Thirlmere, a country lake, and turned it into a resevoir for the city to use. The conflict surrounding the construction of the resevoir pitted industrialists against conservationists and helped launch the modern enviromental movement. This book serves as a reminder that people in other places and times have struggled to preserve nature, just like us."and#8212;Sierra Club
Review
and#8220;A closely researched, sensitively observed, and handsomely illustrated study. . . . This is a gem of a book, enhanced by prose as crystal clear as Thirlmereand#8217;s fabled waters.and#8221;
About the Author
Harriet Ritvo is the Arthur J. Conner Professor of History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of The Platypus and the Mermaid, and Other Figments of the Classifying Imagination;The Animal Estate: The English and Other Creatures in the Victorian Age; and Noble Cows and Hybrid Zebras: Essays on Animals and History.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Oneand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Unspoiled Lakeand#160;
Twoand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Dynamic Cityand#160;and#160;and#160;
Threeand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Struggle for Possessionand#160;
Fourand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Cup and the Lipand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
Fiveand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Harvest of Thirlmere
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notesand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
Bibliography
Illustration Creditsand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Indexand#160;and#160;and#160;