the book review st ives

Book Review

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166 Mona Vale Rd

St Ives New South Wales 2075

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Best Book Stores in St Ives

Average rating of book stores in st ives, book review.

“Professional staff with extensive knowledge in the publishing industry. Can gift wrap and also offer Gift Cards. They will always help you find a”…

“Great bookshop in St Ives, which has been newly renovated with books for everyone in the family from children to adults. There is a large range and”…

Shelly's Bookshop

“Quiet little bookshop, never seems to be too busy. In fact you rarely see people in there! Great store, lovely layout. Staff are very helpful with”…

“I got 3 books published by this company. It's Australia and overseas based. They are so nice and friendly and will do anything to make you happy. ”…

Carnival Book Fairs

“Purchased books through my kids school who hosted a carnival book fair and the books were great prices. Highly recommend to go to a carnival book fair”…

Scholastic Australia

“These books are awesome I have brought a keep of them The colour and art work is amazing and they give you a great laugh no matter your”…

QBD Bookshop, Hornsby

“QBD has a good range of books, and at a discount price. I like to buy lots of books for my grandchildren to read, as it is so important to cultivate a”…

Green Clean

“Theses guys have been cleaning our home for over 2 years now. They always do a great job! We are very happy with the service ”…

“Borders in Macquarie Center is very large with a whole heap of books, stationary, music and with a few games as well! The books were in good condition”…

Pearson Education

“Pearson have taken over able publishing. Together they have supplied quality workbooks, programs and resources suitable for secondary students. Their”…

SeekBOOKS.com.au

“Was very impressed by their service. I find it very hard to beat their prices and postage is quite reasonable. Will be using them again for future”…

“Like this outlet for the sheer act that you can read books without feeling encouraged to buy them, similar to spending a few hours at the library.”…

Angus & Robertson

“I am extremely pleased with they service! they always have something on special! Finding a book which was 40 AUD for 15 AUD is a bargain! is a”…

West Pymble Newsagency

“Good store for a wide range of goods. I went there to get some eyedrops and the staff were very willing to help. The parking is very convenient”…

Lindfield Bookshop & Children's Bookshop

“Now this neat looking book shop isn't exactly my favourite shop. However, the staff are helpful, they seem to know about what they're selling much”…

“The staff here were so helpful and friendly to me when i paid them a visit recently.I had a bundle of questions that they were more than happy to help”…

Roseville Newsagency

“lovely people work here and run the place. the gentleman is really friendly. i buy my lottos and magazines from here time to time. price is a bit”…

“Great well mannered and approachable staff, ease of order pre-release music or DVDs. Great idea from a staff member to purchase a cook book for Dad on”…

To's Newsagency

“Service is very good and the variety of birthday cards and cards for all occasions are the reason I shop here. I get some very creative cards from”…

Fox Valley Newsagent

“a bit pricey. but its a very lovely newsagency. staff are very friendly. pleasant experienec but being a newagency, it is a little pricey”…

The Bookplate

“I remember coming to this store frequently when I was still in school. Although, the bookstore is not that attractive, there are great finds there. To”…

Newsfront Agency

“A popular newsagent which has everything you need- from the last minute- greeting cards and gifts to magazines and stationery. ”…

“An really unique book/dvd/media store which sells reasonably priced tv seasons and movies. They also have great gifts- puppets and merchandise from”…

Waitara News Agency

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• Book Review

Book Review: The St. Ives Branch Line – A History by Richard C. Long

• Roger Smith
• Posted: 2 months ago
• Last updated: 28th July, 2024 at 9:59 am

This book describes one of Britain’s most scenic routes, the short branch line from St. Erth to St. Ives, which was the last broad gauge line to be built in the UK.

Published in July 2022 by Pen & Sword and written by Richard C. Long with a foreword by Tim Dunn, this hardback book measures around 28.6 cm x 22.4 cm, is 184 pages long, and has 90 colour and black-and-white illustrations and maps.

It has a published price of £25, and at the time of writing it can be obtained online from Pen & Sword for £22.50 and Amazon for £24.37.

Unlike most other branch lines the St Ives branch did not close in the 1960s and survives to this day.

This well-researched book describes how the railway enabled a town once renowned for the inescapable smell of fish to become one of the most UK’s popular tourist resorts.

With nine chapters, this book covers the entire history of the line. An excellent foreword by television presenter Tim Dunn is followed by Chapter 1 Early Proposals , which deals with early proposals in 1844 for a branch from St. Erth, and Chapter 2 Building the Railway which describes the construction of the four-miles line to the fishing port of St. Ives.

Chapter 3 The Route Described details how the line hugs the coast of St. Ives Bay via sand-dunes at Lelant, bracken-covered cliffs at Carbis Bay , to St. Ives where the terminus is high above the town.

The years between the line’s opening in 1877 until the first world war are described in Chapter 4 The Early Years , while Chapter 5 The Impact of Tourism looks at how tourism quickly became a major source of traffic, including day trips, holidays, especially to the Great Western Railway ‘s Tregenna Castle Hotel overlooking St. Ives, and the effect on the line by the artist colony that grew up in and around the town.

Chapter 6 The Beeching Era describes how small steam locomotives were replaced by diesel multiple units, and increasing car ownership led to rumours about the line’s closure. Chapter 7 1970’s – the Age of the Car  tells how a Park-and-Ride station at Lelant was opened to encourage car users to use the line.

Chapter 8 From ‘Skippers’ to ‘ Sprinters’  tells how different types of lightweight diesel units were tried but each encountered a range of problems, from curves being too tight to the age of the units.

The Privatisation Era in Chapter 9 describes the latest developments that have contributed to an amazing turnaround in the branch’s fortunes.

It is fitting that as the branch was the last one to be built in the broad-gauge era, the book includes a number of photographs of the time, such as the one on the left below showing St. Ives station high above the town. Standing on the Up platform at St. Erth is the milepost seen on the right below, denoting 321 miles from Paddington, but equally it could be counting down 3-2-1 to the start of one of Britain’s most scenic branch lines.

The broad-gauge theme appears again with the photograph below of one of the broad gauge locomotives that used to operate serviced on the line.

These pages also give a good indication of the level of detail in the book’s narrative.

The Great Western Railway’s publicity department is to be congratulated for the imaginative poster seen below that it produced to encourage tourism to the line. For many years services on the branch were entrusted to Small Prairies, such as the one on the right waiting at St. Erth.

The coast-hugging nature of the line is clearly shown by the photos below, while the photo at the bottom right gives a good impression of how St. Ives station stands high above the town.

After the end of steam, services on the line were in the hands of diesel multiple units, one of which was repainted in the ‘chocolate and cream’ livery of the erstwhile Great Western Railway.

This book excels with plenty of details, from its inception in 1877 to the present day, and is well illustrated throughout. It tells the story of the rise, fall, and rebirth of the line in broadly chronological fashion, and has obviously been well researched.

This book tells the full story of the line from the initial proposals, through the broad-gauge era, to the present day. With a line just four miles long it would have been a challenge to select a good collection of photographs, but the author has done a fine job with a commendable selection that together help to tell the story of the line and shows why it is so popular.

Written in an easy-to-read style that is full of historical details but not bogged down with minute technical details, the book provides a detailed, historical, and photographic record of the line from its beginnings to the present day.

Details of the planning and construction of the line are covered in detail, supported by historical photographs, maps, and plans. Plans in 1965 to close the line are covered in detail, as well as the ensuing inquiries and eventual reprieve to become today’s success story. These are followed by a good description of post-1970s rationalisation and post-privatisation.

The reproduction is superb, enhanced by the chapter titles being included in the appropriate headings and the inclusion of a detailed index. The only real criticism is that because the branch is an ideal length for railway modellers, there are no track plans.

The book is available to purchase from Amazon and from Pen & Sword.

We would like to thank Pen & Sword for providing us with a copy of the book for review.

• TAGGED: Carbis Bay , Great Western Railway , Lelant , Pen & Sword , Reviews , St Erth , St Ives (Cornwall)

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Does it describe why they never seem to find enough staff to run a full service on it?

Surely this four mile line would be PERFECT for a small steam loco service?

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21 books set in cornwall that you will love to read, 21 books set in cornwall that you will love to read – book recommendations.

I’m always on the hunt for lovely books based in Cornwall.  Even though I live here, I still love reading about it. I love other people’s take on the place and how they evoke the unique atmosphere with their words. I’m a tad jealous too, I’d love to be a brilliant writer and write a book on the best place in the world! But for now I will have to be content with telling you all about the books you could read instead…

I’ve scoured my (many) book shelves and found all of my favourite books that are based in Cornwall. I hope you enjoy reading about them and that you maybe feel inspired to read some of them yourself.

1. Somewhere Beyond The Sea by Miranda Dickinson

Can you fall in love with someone before you've even met? Seren MacArthur is living a life she never intended. Trying to save the Cornish seaside business her late father built – while grieving for his loss – she has put her own dreams on hold and is struggling. Until she discovers a half-finished seaglass star on her favourite beach during an early morning walk. When she completes the star, she sets into motion a chain of events that will steal her heart and challenge everything she believes. Jack Dixon is trying to secure a better life for daughter Nessie and himself. Left a widower and homeless when his wife died, he?s just about keeping their heads above water. Finding seaglass stars completed on Gwithian beach is a bright spark that slowly rekindles his hope. Seren and Jack are searching for their missing pieces. But when they meet in real life, it?s on the opposing sides of a battle. Jack is managing the redevelopment of a local landmark, and Seren is leading the community campaign to save it. Both have reason to fight – Seren for the cause her father believed in, Jack for his livelihood. But only one can win. With so much at stake, will they ever find what they are really looking for?

Read More & Buy From Amazon

2. Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale

Gifted artist Rachel Kelly is a whirlwind of creative highs and anguished, crippling lows. She’s also something of an enigma to her husband and four children. So when she is found dead in her Penzance studio, leaving behind some extraordinary new paintings, there’s a painful need for answers. Her Quaker husband appeals for information on the internet. The fragments of a shattered life slowly come to light, and it becomes clear that bohemian Rachel has left her children not only a gift for art – but also her haunting demons.

3. To The Lighthouse By Virginia Woolf

This simple and haunting story captures the transience of life and its surrounding emotions.

To The Lighthouse is the most autobiographical of Virginia Woolf’s novels. It is based on her own early experiences, and while it touches on childhood and children’s perceptions and desires, it is at its most trenchant when exploring adult relationships, marriage and the changing class-structure in the period spanning the Great War.

4. Under A Cornish Sky By Liz Fenwick

Boscawen – a rambling Cornish house surrounded by gardens, orchards and the sea – has been in Victoria’s family for generations. Now, after a loveless marriage and many secret affairs, Victoria hopes to have it all to herself.

On the sleeper train down to Cornwall, Demi desperately hopes her luck will change. After her boyfriend’s humiliating betrayal, running away from her old London life seems the only option.

But Victoria and Demi are in for a surprise. Boscawen is about to play an unexpected part in both their lives. Can two such different women find a way forward when luck changes their lives so drastically?

5. The Promise Of Happiness By Justin Cartwright

Charles Judd meanders round his local Cornish beach, contemplating the turns his life has taken. At home, his wife Daphne struggles hopelessly with the latest fish recipe. Tow of their children are keeping it all together – just. The third, Charles and Daphne’s prodigal daughter Juliet, is being released from prison in New York after a sentence for art theft. This is the day, on the face of it so ordinary, on which Justin Cartwirght’s explosive novel opens, as all five members of the family try to come to terms with the return of Juliet, and their deepest thoughts and darkest secrets are laid bare.

6. The Accidental Family By Rowan Coleman

Six months ago, city girl Sophie Mills gave up everything to move to Cornwall. All to be with the man she thinks she loves, and his two irresistible daughters who she knows she loves.

Bu adjusting to life as a semi-permanent mother in the countryside isn’t quite as easy as Sophie imagined it would be. Designer shoes aren’t nearly so readily available – not that she has any occasion to wear them – and her best pair of vintage Manolo’s have already found their way into the girls’ dressing up box. Sometimes Sophie doesn’t recognise herself; which most of the time makes her happy but every now and then scares her to death.

The hardest thing of all is making that final commitment to actually move in with Louis and the girls – she’s well on the way to being the longest paying guest of the Avalon B&B, St Ives in the history of the establishment. And as she tried to adapt to country life, her newly adopted family and discovering more about Louis’s past, she begins to wonder if she’s got what it takes to make it all work…

7. Zennor In Darkness By Helen Dunmore

Spring, 1917, and war haunts the Cornish coastal village of Zennor: ships are being sunk by U-boats, strangers are treated with suspicion, and newspapers are full of spy stories.

Into this turmoil come D. H Lawrence and his German wife, Frieda hoping to escape the war-fever that grips London. They befriend Clare Coyne, a young artist struggling to console her beloved cousin, John William, who is on leave from the trenches and suffering from shell-shock.

Yet the dark tide of gossip and innuendo means that Zennor is neither a place of recovery nor of escape . . .

8. The Holiday Home By Fern Britton

Set on a Cornish cliff, Atlantic House has been the jewel in the Carew family crown for centuries. Each year, the Carew sisters embark on the yearly trip down to Cornwall for the summer holidays, but they are as different as vinegar and honey: Prudence, hard-nosed businesswoman and married to the meek and mild Francis, she is about to get a shock reminder that you should never take anything for granted. Constance, homemaker and loving wife to philandering husband Greg, has always been out-manoeuvred by her manipulative sibling. But now that Pru wants to get her hands on Atlantic House, Connie is not about to take things lying down

9. The House On The Strand By Daphne Du Maurier

When Dick Young’s friend, Professor Magnus Lane, offers him an escape from his troubles in the form of a new drug, Dick finds himself transported to fourteenth-century Cornwall. There, in the manor of Tywardreath, the domain of Sir Henry Champerhoune, he witnesses intrigue, adultery and murder.

The more time Dick spends consumed in the past, the more he withdraws from the modern world. With each dose of the drug, his body and mind become addicted to this otherworld, and his attempts to change history bring terror to the present and put his own life in jeopardy.

10. The Life Of A Scilly Sergeant By Colin Taylor

Sergeant Colin Taylor keeps the streets of Scilly free from anchor thieves, goldfish abductors, and other culprits – some drunken – intent on breaking the law.

And in this book, he tells us exactly how her does it!

11. In Her Wake By Amanda Jennings

A perfect life … until she discovered it wasn’t her own.

A tragic family event reveals devastating news that rips apart Bella’s comfortable existence. Embarking on a personal journey to uncover the truth, she faces a series of traumatic discoveries that take her to the ruggedly beautiful Cornish coast, where hidden truths, past betrayals and a 25-year-old mystery threaten not just her identity, but also her life.

Chilling, complex and profoundly moving, In Her Wake is a gripping psychological thriller that questions the nature of family – and reminds us that sometimes the most shocking crimes are committed closest to home.

12. Daisy’s Vintage Cornish Campervan By Ali McNamara

When Ana inherits a broken-down camper van from her best friend, she takes the chance for a quick trip to Cornwall – some sea air and fish and chips on the beach is just the tonic she needs.

But St Felix has bigger plans for Ana. She discovers a series of unsent postcards, dating back to the 1950s, hidden in the upholstery of the van. Ana knows that it’s a sign: she’ll make sure that the messages reach the person that they were meant for. And as the broken-down van is restored to gleaming health, so Ana begins to find her way back to happiness.

13. Ross Poldark By Winston Graham

Ross Poldark is the first novel in Winston Graham’s hugely popular Poldark series, which has become a television phenomenon starring Aidan Turner.

Tired from a grim war in America, Ross Poldark returns to his land and his family. But the joyful homecoming he has looked forward to turns sour, for his father is dead, his estate is derelict, and the girl he loves is engaged to his cousin

14. Intensive Care By Debby Fowler

Fizzy has a commission to illustrate a locally written children’s book and during her sketching expeditions around St. Ives, she encounters a small boy. His image haunts her – where has she seen him before? After a frantic dash to Oxford to look at some old school photos she has him placed. A reluctant Inspector Penrose is dragged in and is gradually convinced that the chase isn’t solely after wild geese. The two of them, fighting demons of their own, discover the truth – a complicated tangle of wrecked lives – bringing Felicity to face up to another tragedy in her past

15. The Camomile Lawn By Mary Wesley

Behind the large house, the fragrant camomile lawn stretches down to the Cornish cliffs. Here, in the dizzying heat of August 1939, five cousins have gathered at their aunt’s house for their annual ritual of a holiday. For most of them, it is the last summer of their youth, with the heady exhilarations and freedoms of lost innocence, as well as the fears of the coming war around the corner.

16. Caught Out In Cornwall By Janie Bolitho

When Rose Trevelyan sees a young girl being carried away by someone who appears to be her father, she thinks nothing of it. Until, that is, the appearance of a frantic mother who cannot find her child. Beth Jones is only 4, and her mother is adamant that the man Rose saw taking her away must be a stranger

17. Up With The Larks: Starting Again In Cornwall By Tessa Hainsworth

Having given up a high-powered job and the lifestyle to match, Tessa Hainsworth had no idea how hard she would struggle when, full of optimism, she fulfilled her dream of moving to rural Cornwall with her young family one September. Within months, she is almost ready to return to London, tail between her legs: her husband is still out of work, her children are struggling in a cold, damp, tumbledown house and the family is running out of money – fast. But a chance encounter in the local post office leads her to accept the unlikeliest of job offers.

18. The Forgotten Garden By Kate Morton

On the eve of the First World War, a little girl is found abandoned after a gruelling ocean voyage from England to Australia. All she can remember of the journey is that a mysterious woman she calls the Authoress had promised to look after her. But the Authoress has vanished without a trace.

Now an old lady, Nell travels to England to discover the truth about her parentage. Her quest leads her to Cornwall, and to a beautiful estate called Blackhurst Manor, which had been owned by the Mountrachet family. What has prompted Nell’s journey after all these years?

On Nell’s death, her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into a surprise inheritance. Cliff Cottage, in the grounds of Blackhurst Manor, is notorious amongst the locals for the secrets it holds – secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is at Cliff Cottage, abandoned for years, and in its forgotten garden, that Cassandra will uncover the truth about the family and why the young Nell was abandoned all those decades before.

19. A Cornish Orphan By Sheila Jefferies

Following a terrible storm, seven-year-old Lottie is rescued from a shipwreck by local Cornishman, Arnie Lanroska. Her clothing suggests she comes from a wealthy family, but Lottie’s back bears the scars of a severe beating, and how she came to be on a cargo ship in the first place remains a mystery . . .

Arnie and his wife already have two young children, Matt and Tom, but are desperate to keep Lottie. They decide to foster her, despite outcries from the local community, and though Matt appears hesitant to get close to Lottie, Tom quickly warms to the new sister in his life.

But when tragedy strikes the very heart of the Lanroska family, the repercussions could change the lives of everyone close to them . . .

20. The Fire Child By S K Tremayne

When Rachel marries handsome David and moves to a beautiful house in Cornwall, she gains wealth, love, and an affectionate stepson, Jamie.

But then Jamie’s behaviour changes, and her perfect life begins to unravel. He makes disturbing predictions, claiming to be haunted by the spectre of his late mother. As September slips away and December looms, Rachel grows increasingly suspicious of her husband – and begins to suspect there might be truth in Jamie’s words:

‘YOU WILL BE DEAD BY CHRISTMAS’

21. The Shell Seekers By Rosamunde Pilcher

Artist’s daughter Penelope Keeling can look back on a full and varied life: a Bohemian childhood in London and Cornwall, an unhappy wartime marriage, and the one man she truly loved. She has brought up three children – and learned to accept them as they are.

Yet she is far too energetic and independent to settle sweetly into pensioned-off old-age. And when she discovers that her most treasured possession, her father’s painting, The Shell Seekers , is now worth a small fortune, it is Penelope who must make the decisions that will determine whether her family can continue to survive as a family, or be split apart.

Have you read 101 Brilliant Things To Do In St Ives Cornwall?

It will give you so many ideas of things you can do on your next visit to our lovely town!

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Bundle of Books

Thoughts from a bookworm, the harbour bookshop – st. ives.

This is the second bookshop I visited in St. Ives. It’s not exactly a big town, and with the St. Ives Bookseller   just around the corner, you might think there’s no need for another bookshop. But I say that you can never have too many bookshops!

(Sorry for the terrible picture!)

Although not quite as quaint and pretty as its competitor around the corner, and with a less attractive window display, The Harbour Bookshop actually has a lot more going for it. It feels like a more realistic shop – like somewhere you would go to actually buy your books. With more reasonable prices and a lot more variety, this bookshop is great for people with a wide range of tastes. It’s also great for tourists, as it has quite a collection of local books showcasing Cornish history, art and fiction.

The children’s and young adult section is huge, almost stretching across the whole length of the shop. I was very impressed with the variety on offer.

Towards the back of the shop, there’s a massive collection of tasteful and slightly arty greeting cards. I have always thought books and cards go well together!

The thing that makes  The Harbour Bookshop  special is the random piles of books found on the floor, either in sale boxes or simply propped up to display their covers. Even walking upstairs (to a room filled with general non-fiction) is a delight! The walls are covered with maps and posters and each step provides a resting spot for yet another pile of books! This place is a bit higgledy-piggledy and clearly run by a book lover.

My only (small) complaint would have to be the large red and white special offer stickers, which made the place feel a bit like a cheap stationary shop. I know I sound fussy, but I hate the sticky, dirty patch left behind on a brand new book! I suppose I shouldn’t complain seeing as there were so many books in the sale!

If you ever go to St. Ives, make sure you visit The Harbour Bookshop . The address is:  2 Tregenna Place, St Ives, Cornwall, TR26 1SD (tel: 01736 794 973)

And here’s a link to their website .

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2 thoughts on “ The Harbour Bookshop – St. Ives ”

There used to be one quite similair in Newquay but I belived it closed down, it’s a shame as that was where I discovered Kimberley Chambers.

It’s so sad when bookshops like this close down!

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• Rick’s Amazon Authors Page

Book review: St. Ives, Being the Adventures of a French Prisoner in England

by Richard Subber | May 12, 2017 | Book reviews , Books , Books Commentary | 0 comments

Taking another look

At stevenson’s st. ives …, book review:, being the adventures, of a french prisoner in england.

by  Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1907

This is a re-do of my earlier post on Stevenson’s  St. Ives , because I now confess that I stopped reading at p. 390. So, don’t worry about spoilers….

I’ve always embraced a coldly mechanical willingness to stop reading a book whenever the time comes….in  St. Ives , the time comes at Chapter XXXI.

Stevenson died after writing XXX chapters of  St. Ives . Perhaps not too many eyebrows were raised when a respected contemporary writer, Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, wrote the remaining six chapters from Stevenson’s notes.

Stevenson’s oeuvre is fastidiously lush, precise, sophisticated, with deeply contextual character development and dialogue that leaves me breathless with anticipation for more. There’s an abstractly beautiful love interest. Did I mention that I’m a fan of 19th century prose?

Quiller-Couch doubtless had his merits as a 19th century writer. He ain’t no Stevenson.

Q-C’s contribution to  St. Ives  lacks the prepossessing heartiness of Stevenson’s dialogue and storyline.

Q-C can’t quite gin up the panache and persiflage that RLS animates on nearly every page.

Q-C makes a too sincere but unavailing effort to match the rural patois that Stevenson offers for the reader’s delight.

Q-C bungles the parlous adventures of the eponymous protagonist, injecting a wretched slapstick element that leads an RLS fan to transition uncomfortably into pursed-lips mode.

Stevenson’s prosaic mastery is, sadly, missing in the last six chapters of St. Ives , and, therefore, ignorance shall be my penalty for closing this truncated masterpiece before I reached the end.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2017 All rights reserved.

  On this website you can read: my poetry in free verse and 5-7-5 format—nature poems, love poems, poems about grandchildren, and a spectrum of other topics—written in a way that makes it possible for you to know, as precisely as possible, what’s going on in my mind and in my imagination; thoughtful book reviews that offer some exceptional critique of the book instead of a simple book summary; examinations of history that did and didn’t happen; examples of my love affair with words; reflections on the quotations, art, and wisdom of famous and not-so-famous people, and occasional comments on politics and human nature.

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Book review: Grace Notes

Is it prose or poetry, writing rainbows: poems for grown-ups with 59 free verse and haiku poems,, and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on amazon (paperback and kindle), and free in kindle unlimited, search amazon for “richard carl subber”.

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Art Lantern

The Independent Voice of the Visual arts

• Book Review

St Ives Artists – A Biography of Place and Time. Michael Bird

As this book is about St Ives and not about the artists one would have thought that a vital element of the story.

Also missed, because no one thinks about it, is the free card the world gave the UK after the war. Alistair Cook tells the story of Churchill playing cards with American Secret Service men as he flew to meet the President after VE Day and the men grumbling their boss had told them to lose under the dictum, ‘Lose. The man just saved the free world’. In the late 40s and throughout the 50s everything British was the best. It’s a frisson the Brexit camp want to return to but, like so much, they lose the history of the time in thinking only about its benefits. St Ives was a winner because the UK had won a war, not because the artists were the best in the world. They had struggled in the 30s, developed their styles (Lanyon was still improving in the late 40s). The writers suggests David Bomberg did the most ‘compelling’ land-scapes of Cornwall in the 40s but he didn’t get on socially with Nicholson and Hepworth so never became a part of St Ives. On the other hand, Sven Berlin stayed for a while and made, according to Bird, ‘plodding’ work.

What these artists were, without doubt, was dynamic, efficient networkers. One of the first grants from the Arts Council was given to buy what was to become Porthmeor Studios. Then there was the Penwith.

The writer does not seem aware that the original rules of the Penwith were to force a turn-round of the Trustees at least every four years to stop the place going stale, something that was not adhered to since the 80s. Thus does the dynamic become lethargic. Frost was later to damn the art business in the UK as a ‘haven for nonentities’ (p108). But money was moving to the Unites States and art movements in the 20th century came and went with rapid alacrity. The St Ives School was no exception. The avant garde moved to New York and all St Ives could do was to wait out the lives of its resident artists.

This book is beautiful about St Ives. It doesn’t draw the hard conclusions about the personalities it needs to, to really understand how a Cornish town living mostly from fishing came to have an art movement named after it, though it puts all the points in place.

When dealing with art history you have to understand the world, as well as a particular place, to get to the core of what makes an avant garde movement.

Daniel Nanavati

Volume 32 no 3 Jan/Feb 2018 p 36

7 thoughts on “ St Ives Artists – A Biography of Place and Time. Michael Bird ”

I was enjoying your review, until you wrote, “Today, nothing that goes on in St Ives is read by anyone outside of Cornwall which is why it is dead as an art scene.” Can you tell me more to support this statement, as I totally disagree. There is also the Tate St Ives; do you not consider this museum? If not, why not? I find it spectacular and a gift to locals and to tourists who flock to St Ives, something beside just the beach and the tourist shops.

I would be happy to read about St Ives in Art In America or Art Forum.

Though St Ives is not London or New York, it does have a very lively art scene and some wonderful similarities to St Paul de Vence in France, though St Ives is more beautiful by far. Mr Nanavati, why does it matter so much for St Ives to be covered in Art in America or Art Forum? Could you explain please? Do the Belgrave Gallery and the Tate not qualify?

Though you may not have read about St Ives in Art Forum since 2008, we still have our St Ives School of Art, a “creative breathing space” attended by artists from around the world, creating a thriving art community. We are in Britian not in America; have you forgotten? Where else in the world can you find such inspiration for painting than in and around St Ives? What other town can boast so many famous artists from its past and with its future all to come?

Ir s quite clear that St Ives had faded as a significant art Center, The domination of the Penwith by “Kathy “being a factor, The inability of the Penwith Society to deal with this is a major hinderance A Historical recognizing is needed. While the coverup is in place nothing will happen. Just riding on the ghosts from the past

Not much seems to have changed in train journeys down to St Ives then when the Frosts came to what they are today. It’s an area where time has pleasantly stopped at around 40 years ago, except during the tourist season when things look a bit more modern and 2018ish. It’s a very particular part of the world, and it’s easy to see why so many artists found themselves there.

I thought your magazine might like to see what I thought of Mr. Nanavati’s article; I wrote a comment on the book in Amazon UK in the review area because after reading his article I read the book and discovered how beautiful it was.

Thanks to the review by Daniel Nanavati that I found in the Art Lantern, I read Michael Bird’s very interesting book. I liked the book far more than Nanavati did and couldn’t get over the description of Cornwall then and how it is still the same today, fortunately! It was a very readable book, and I advise anyone who suffers slightly from nostalgia of the past to read it. Here’s the review that convinced me to get the book: https://artlantern.net/st-ives-artists-a-biography-of-place-and-time-michael-bird/

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Monday 16 September 2024

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Art review: Beatriz Milhazes: Maresias at Tate St Ives

Susan gray sees the work of beatriz milhazes.

Beatriz Milhazes, Banho de Rio (2017), currently in her exhibition at Tate St Ives

THE Roman Catholicism of Beatriz Milhazes, spelled out in her earlier work, becomes a subtler presence as her career develops.

In Casa de Maria (1992), a tiny, simplified Madonna, with an opaque gold halo, is positioned as the crest of a gold tracery shield. The shield shape is surrounded by ghostly grey and white floral motifs suggesting lace and flower garlands. Reflecting on the influence of her home city, Rio de Janeiro, Milhazes says: “All the elaborate and detailed architecture and the devotion to gold and celebration . . . have always fascinated me. For my work, the Baroque became important in the early 1990s, Hispanic culture in general from art to architecture, especially the Catholic church, and women’s royal costumes.”

The small portrait of the Virgin Mary is the Virgin of Guadalupe, from Mexico. In the early 1990s, the artist was engaged more with Spanish culture than with Portuguese. “I was interested in representations of the Virgin Mary, especially figuratively. I have very few paintings where you can see the image. That phase did not really last because I am not a figurative artist. I just keep the feeling and the atmosphere and how that would interfere with my abstract art, because abstract art is a lot about spirituality.”

Photos of works in “Maresias” , meaning Atlantic breeze, cannot do them justice, as the layered, almost hypnotic, large canvases become animated at different distances and with the light playing at various angles.

The artist’s monotransfer technique, developed in 1989, still underpins her practice today. She paints motifs on to plastic sheets, which are transferred to canvas, and the transfers repeat the forms through layering. Moving the plastic sheets changes the materiality and texture of the paint, while layering the memory of the process. Montransfer adapts the concept of collage to painting, while retaining a deliberately painterly quality.

Circular shapes dominate the show’s second room, making reference to rosary beads, crochet, lace, arabesques, Portuguese colonial culture, Catholicism, and carnival forms. “Carnival in Brazil is a very serious thing, it’s a kind of religion.” In Coisa Linda I, Something Beautiful I (2001), overlapping circles of concentric dots in gold, silver, bronze, and red evoke the feeling of a church interior, with the play and refraction of light creating an immersive experience.

The turn of the millennium marked a turning point in the artist’s career. After her first major solo exhibition in Brazil in 2002, Milhazes represented Brazil at the 50th Venice Biennale a year later. The expanded scale of her paintings anticipated her mid-decade public art. In 2005, the segmental brick arches of Gloucester Road Underground platforms were echoed by the solid, intensely coloured circles and Pop Art protean forms of Peace and Love.

A year earlier, Milhazes had created a seven-storey-high glass façade for Selfridges Manchester, presenting a joyous cosmic swirl of spheres and shapes from the natural world, in ice cream colours. For her exhibition at Turner Contemporary, Margate, in 2023, the artist represented the phases of the day, from sunrise to sunset, in five vertical panels, with a starry night at the centre, on the gallery’s sea window, in a temporary vinyl installation O Esplendor . But she would not relate these experiments in colour and glazing directly with religious stained glass. “Stained glass started this project I did at Selfridges. It is interesting how things work out. I like glass, but never really thought about it in churches. I was more interested in the volume and the movement of the gold, and the sculptural qualities, but not exactly the stained glass.”

From 2008, the natural world, including Copacabana, the Tijuca rainforest, and Rio’s botanical gardens, became a strong influence. In Banho de Rio (River Bath) (2017), petal shapes of varying size, filled with linear and curving patterns and intense acrylic pinks, purples, and gold, overlap to suggest rippling water. Abstracted floral shapes, clustering where the larger shapes’ outlines meet, suggest lily pads. A subtle background pattern of graduated horizontal gold strips, becoming fainter towards the top of the plane, creates a sense of motion. Light means that rivers can be any colour, the artist says. “There’s also something magical about rivers because they support life.”

Although this artist’s work sometimes references the ornamental face-painting of the animist Kadiweu tribe, and she describes the ever present circles as the “core of spirituality”, she is also a sincere Catholic. “I have a lot of faith. I believe in God. I don’t have a routine of going to mass or confession, but I do like the Catholic rituals. I go to mass, but it depends on how I feel.”

She also feels a connection to Sister Irma Dulce, canonised in 2019, the first Brazilian female saint. “SUS [Brazilian health service] incorporated her project as part of the government’s. I support her through visits. I support through communications. I support in different ways.”

“Beatriz Milhazes: Maresias” is at Tate St Ives, Porthmeor Beach, St Ives, Cornwall, un til 29 September. Phone 0173 679 6226. www.tate.org.uk

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The Kenyon Review

The Kenyon Review 85th Anniversary Reading

Center For Fiction 15 Lafayette Street Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217

October 9th, 7PM

Lucy Ives , An Image of My Mind Enters America , Essays (Graywolf, 2024)

Iain Haley Pollock ,  Ghost, Like a Place,  Poetry(Alice James, 2018) and a special presentation by  Daisy Desrosiers , Director, and Chief Curator, The Gund at Kenyon College MING SMITH: Jazz Requiem- Notations in Blue,  photography folio ( Kenyon Review  Fall 2024) The Gund | Connecting People Through Art

Lucy Ives is the author of three novels: Impossible Views of the World, published by Penguin Press and selected as a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice; Loudermilk: Or, The Real Poet; Or, The Origin of the World, published by Soft Skull Press and also a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice; and Life Is Everywhere, published by Graywolf Press and a best book of 2022 with The New Yorker and the Seattle Times. Her short fiction is collected in the recent Cosmogony (Soft Skull Press, 2021). In spring 2020, Siglio Press published The Saddest Thing Is That I Have Had to Use Words: A Madeline Gins Reader, the first definitive anthology of poet-architect Gins’s poetry and prose, edited and with an introduction by Ives.Ives’s writing has appeared in Art in America, Artforum, The Baffler, The Believer, The Chronicle of Higher Education, frieze, Granta, Harper’s, Lapham’s Quarterly, n+1, and Vogue, among other publications. For five years she was an editor with the online magazine Triple Canopy.A graduate of Harvard and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from New York University. She is currently Bonderman Assistant Professor of the Practice in Literary Arts at Brown University and was a recipient of a 2018 Creative Capital | Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant.

Photograph by Will Matsuda

Iain Haley Pollock is the author of three poetry collections,  Spit Back a Boy  (2011),  Ghost, Like a Place  (Alice James, 2018), and the forthcoming  All the Possible Bodies  (Alice James, September 2025).  His poems have received several honors including the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, a 2023 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Poetry, the Bim Ramke Prize for Poetry from  Denver Quarterly , and a nomination for an NAACP Image Award.  Pollock directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Manhattanville University in Purchase, NY.

Daisy Desrosiers is an interdisciplinary art historian and the current director and chief curator of Kenyon College’s Gund Gallery. She was previously the inaugural Director of artist programs at the Lunder Institute for American Art at the Colby Museum of Art at Colby College (Maine). Past exhibitions include Theaster Gates: The Black Image Corporation at Gropius Bau (Berlin, Germany), Sympathy For the Translator presented at the ICA (MECA) (Maine, USA) and No Justice Without Love, at the Ford Foundation Gallery (NYC, USA) developed in dialogue with the Art for Justice community of artists and advocates. She was one of the co-curators of the First Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Toronto Triennale titled GTA21 in 2021. Desrosiers was also part of the 2023 Center for Curatorial Leadership cohort. Past fellowships include Nicholas Fox Weber curatorial fellow with the Glucksman Museum in Cork (Ireland) and a curatorial fellow at Brooklyn-based nonprofit, Art in General. She contributed to the 2021 New Museum Triennial publication and As We Rise (Aperture, 2021). She sits on the Board of Directors at the Art Gallery of the University College Cork, (Cork, Ireland).