'The Severn, A Biography'
by Madeleine Bunting will be published by Granta in 2028
A major work of research into the many ways in which the Severn and her tributaries have shaped two nations and provided habitat for a multitude of living creatures. Bunting is walking the 220 odd miles of the Severn Way from the estuary to the source in the Cambrian mountains of mid Wales and along the way, interviewing dozens of people with an intimate knowledge of this much loved river. The Severn has inspired worship and mythology, and her waters have also supported some of Britain's most famous industries from textiles to porcelain and iron. She has created cities and linked ports to the Atlantic. Her biography is one of ceaseless generosity, but also of human exploitation in polluted waters, and now climate crisis is increasing the frequency and severity of flooding and threatening sea level rise along her banks.
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