A fictional seaside town is presented through a carefully invented archive of postcards and short local histories. Captions explain how tourism, rail travel and changing fashions can be studied through visual sources. The archive is synthetic and does not document real historical events.
Book ID
book-011
Reading level
Beginner
Currency
GBP
Category
history
visual sourcesseasidepostcardsillustrated
This is a fictional book in a demonstration store. It is not available to buy.
Reader reviews
6 fictional reviews · 3.3 / 5
★★★★★5 out of 5
A lovely invented archive
The postcards are charming, but the best part is learning to question what sits outside their frames. The synthetic setting is clearly explained throughout.
★★★★☆4 out of 5
Short captions with substance
Each card introduces a manageable question about tourism or transport. I would have liked a longer concluding chapter connecting all the changes in Northmere.
★★☆☆☆2 out of 5
Too slight for the price
The images are attractive and the captions readable. I finished quickly and wanted more depth than a sequence of brief observations about each postcard.
★★★☆☆3 out of 5
Useful method, limited narrative
This works well as a demonstration of reading visual sources. It is less satisfying if you are looking for a continuous history with central characters.
★★★★★5 out of 5
Good for reading together
We compared what the postcards advertised with what the captions questioned. It made a useful discussion without requiring much background knowledge of historical research.
★☆☆☆☆1 out of 5
Not historical postcards
I bought this expecting reproductions from a real seaside archive. They are invented illustrations, as the description says, and that was not what I wanted.