When the future Queen Victoria arrived in Sidmouth in the early years of the last century many of the fine buildings which grace the modern town had just been built. Since then the resort has acquired an air of general respectability which the twentieth century with its modern tourist trade has done little to remove: today Sidmouth is one of England’s loveliest seaside town. The photographs which comprise this delightful selection bring to life the history of the town in a way mere words can never do. For, unlike the historians, the photographers were actually there when they clicked their shutters. What might have been a snapshot when it was taken becomes in time the most authentic record we could have of a period which has otherwise vanished into the past. If photography was, sadly, unable to capture the visit of the infant Victoria, it has handed down to us a vivid visual reminder of the changes which have overtaken the town and its inhabitant in the last hundred years. With it emphasis on those who lives have been spent in this corner of East Devon, this fascinating volume incorporates an area bounded by Newton Poppleford, Sidbury and Branscombe. For those who know the area i will bring back a host of memories; others will enjoy discovering Sidmouth’s rich heritage.