In all the complex cultural history of the islands of Britain and Ireland the idea of the coast as a significant representative space is critical. For many important artists coastal space has figured as a site from which to braid ideas of empire, nation, region, and archipelago. They have been drawn to the coast as a zone of geographical uncertainty in which the self-definitions of the nation founder; they have been drawn to it as a peripheral space of vestigial wildness, of island retreats and experimental living; as a network of diverse localities richly endowed with distinctive forms of cultural heritage; and as a dynamically interconnected ecosystem, which is at the same time the historic site of significant developments in fieldwork and natural science. This collection situates these cultures of the Atlantic edge in a series of essays that create new contexts for coastal study in literary history and criticism. The contributors frame their research in response to emerging conversations in archipelagic criticism, the blue humanities, and island studies, the essays challenging the reader to reconsider ideas of margin, periphery and exchange. These twelve case studies establish the coast as a crucial location in the imaginative history of Britain, Ireland and the north Atlantic edge. Coastal Works will appeal to readers of literature and history with an interest in the sea, the environment, and the archipelago from the 18th century to the present. Accessible, innovative and provocative, Coastal Works establishes the important role that the coast plays in our cultural imaginary and suggests a range of methodologies to represent relationships between land, sea, and cultural work.

Forgotten Landscapes... Despite the proud boast of the Liverpudlians of today that there has always been a Liverpool and always will be a Liverpool, the truth is that for many centuries the world got on quite well without us, and as cities go Liverpool is only a recent newcomer compared with most others across Europe. The granting of the much-vaunted Charter of 1207 and the presence of an imposing castle were all well and good but the fact remained that the town was little more than a fishing village with a nice beach for the following 450 years. The event which awakened Liverpool from its slumbrous backwaters was the British colonisation of the West Indies which triggered a trade in slaves, an occupation which Liverpool shipowners took up with alacrity and made fortunes from throughout the following 150 years. The slave-trade was the catalyst for the building of Liverpool and it was from 1650 onwards, throughout the shameful years of the enforced African diaspora and beyond, that the architectural and cultural framework of modern Liverpool was formed; much of it has now gone and much of it is falling into decay but with a little imagination the fragments of that forgotten landscape can still be glimpsed. Forgotten Lives...The natural corollary to envisaging Liverpool's lost landscape is to wonder what the people were like who inhabited the city; were they tougher than us? They had a whole host of diseases to cope with, harder lives and primitive living conditions; were they cleverer than us? Victorian engineering was breathtaking but it is more than remarkable that Llangollen's Pontcysllte aqueduct was begun as early as 1795; were they as cultured as us? Some of their art works have never been surpassed. The facts speak for themselves and given the obstacles they faced our ancestors were a remarkably resilient and hardy lot. Although the lives of many Liverpudlians have been documented there are far more whose stories lie mouldering in the city's archives and in this book I have tried to bring some of them back into the light of day to enlighten our lives and wonder at theirs.

Myrtle Beach has long been a favorite vacation spot for families across America, giving parents and children alike a lifetime of memories. The Myrtle Beach Pavilion, considered by many to be the heart of the city since 1908, was demolished in 2007. The Ocean Forest Hotel was as beautiful as a castle, and resembled one, during its forty-four-year span. Members of World War II's Doolittle Raid trained at the Myrtle Beach General Bombing and Gunnery Range, which eventually became Myrtle Beach Air Force Base until its closure in 1993. Join author Becky Billingsley for a trip back in time as she examines some of the city's most memorable attractions.

Join author and historian Amy Waters Yarsinske as she takes one final stroll through a Virginia Beach lost to time. The Oceanfront's Cottage Line, the music halls of Seaside Park and dunes so large they dwarfed the old Cape Henry lighthouse are a memory. Gone, too, are many of the city's iconic landmarks and open spaces, lost to storm, fire and the relentless onslaught of post-World War II development. With a deft hand and rare vintage images, historian Amy Waters Yarsinske recalls a time when the likes of Chuck Berry and Ray Charles played beneath the sizzling lights of the Dome and locals shagged the night away at the Peppermint Beach Club.