Remains of Elmet
Sep 2011 · Faber & Faber
Ebook
88
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
'The Calder valley, west of Halifax, was the last ditch of Elmet, the last British Celtic kingdom to fall to
the Angles. For centuries it was considered a more or less uninhabitable wilderness, a notorious refuge for
criminals, a hide-out for refugees. Then in the early 1800s it became the cradle for the Industrial Revolution in
textiles, and the upper Calder became "the hardest-worked river in England". Throughout my lifetime, since
1930, I have watched the mills of the region and their attendant chapels die. Within the last fifteen years the end
has come. They are now virtually dead, and the population of the valley and the hillsides, so rooted for so long,
is changing rapidly.' Ted Hughes, Preface to Remains of Elmet (1979)
Ted Hughes's remarkable 'pennine sequence' celebrates the area where he spent his early childhood. It mixes
social, political, religious and historical matter - a tapestry rich in the personal and poetic investment of a
landscape that both creates and is inured to its people, whose moors 'Are a stage for the performance of heaven.
/ Any audience is incidental.' Remains of Elmet is one of Hughes's most personal and enduring achievements.
the Angles. For centuries it was considered a more or less uninhabitable wilderness, a notorious refuge for
criminals, a hide-out for refugees. Then in the early 1800s it became the cradle for the Industrial Revolution in
textiles, and the upper Calder became "the hardest-worked river in England". Throughout my lifetime, since
1930, I have watched the mills of the region and their attendant chapels die. Within the last fifteen years the end
has come. They are now virtually dead, and the population of the valley and the hillsides, so rooted for so long,
is changing rapidly.' Ted Hughes, Preface to Remains of Elmet (1979)
Ted Hughes's remarkable 'pennine sequence' celebrates the area where he spent his early childhood. It mixes
social, political, religious and historical matter - a tapestry rich in the personal and poetic investment of a
landscape that both creates and is inured to its people, whose moors 'Are a stage for the performance of heaven.
/ Any audience is incidental.' Remains of Elmet is one of Hughes's most personal and enduring achievements.
About the author
Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was born in Yorkshire. His first book, The Hawk in the Rain, was published in 1957
by Faber and Faber and was followed by many volumes of poetry and prose for adults and children. He received
the Whitbread Book of the Year for two consecutive years for his last published collections of poetry, Tales from Ovid (1997) and Birthday Letters (1998). He was Poet Laureate from 1984 and in 1998 he was appointed
to the Order of Merit.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
