MAN OF IRON: THOMAS TELFORD AND THE BUILDING OF BRITAIN (PB)

Thomas Telford's name is familiar, his story less so. Born in 1757 in the Scottish Borders, his father died in his infancy, plunging the family into poverty. Telford's life soared to span almost eight decades of gloriously obsessive, prodigiously productive energy. A stonemason turned architect turned engineer, Telford invented the modern road, built churches, harbours, canals, docks, the famously vertiginous Pontcysyllte aqueduct in Wales, and the dramatic Menai Bridge. Intimate, expansive and drawing on contemporary accounts, this is the first full modern biography of Telford.