{"title":"Tarquin Blake","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the thrilling world of Tarquin Blake, where gripping plots and unforgettable characters await. Perfect for fans of intense thrillers and suspenseful mysteries, explore a collection that will keep you on the edge of your seat.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"abandoned-churches-of-ireland-book-tarquin-blake-9781848899100","title":"Abandoned Churches of Ireland","description":"This latest book by Tarquin Blake documents eighty abandoned Church of Ireland churches, preserving a record of fragile religious ruins.    Their history, dating back to early Christianity in Ireland, paints a stark portrait of a Protestant aristocracy and a Catholic majority. Under the 1801 Act of Union, the Church of Ireland was united with the Church of England. Following this about GBP1 million (100 million in today's money) was spent building over 700 Protestant churches. The Church of Ireland was the Established Church and Protestantism the official religion. Most Irish resented the Church of Ireland, a minority church controlled by Englishmen, unsympathetic and friends of the landlords. As Protestant congregations declined in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries an attempt was made to keep churches open by uniting parishes. Eventually non-existent congregations forced closure of many churches. Valuables were removed, churches deconsecrated and abandoned. Blake's haunting images of crumbling ruins and history of the churches tell another fascinating story of troubled times.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49509850808593,"sku":"GOR007976616","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49735429194001,"sku":"NGR9781848899100","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848899106.jpg?v=1751440928"},{"product_id":"ancient-ireland-book-tarquin-blake-9781848893047","title":"Ancient Ireland","description":"Carrowkeel Passage Tomb in Sligo is an extensive Neolithic passage tomb undisturbed since its excavation in 1911. Robert Praeger, one of the excavators, described being one of the first to enter the tomb: 'I lit three candles and stood awhile, to let my eyes accustom themselves to the dim light. There was everything, just as the last man had left it, three to four thousand years before.' On an isolated hillside, the tomb is in almost the same undisturbed condition today. Ireland is rich in such monuments. Tarquin Blake and Fiona Reilly explore and document over 140 historic sites across the thirty-two counties. These range from megalithic tombs and round towers to monasteries and castles, as well as the more recent Martello towers and windmills. An engrossing catalogue of remarkable heritage sites is revealed. Each site, from Brian Boru's Fort in County Clare to Moyne Friary in County Mayo, has an intriguing past and is illustrated with Blake's trademark photographs.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49567819890961,"sku":"GOR008876189","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848893043.jpg?v=1751123231"},{"product_id":"abandoned-mansions-of-ireland-book-tarquin-blake-9781848890619","title":"Abandoned Mansions of Ireland","description":"From the mid-eighteenth century Irish country houses flourished. Landowners generated easy income leasing land to tenants. As their wealth increased, so did the size of their country mansions. But factors such as the Great Famine, land reforms, the increasing expense of maintenance and the IRA targeting the houses during the War of Independence took their toll. Gradually, abandoned and forgotten, the houses sank into decay.  In 2008 Tarquin Blake found his first abandoned 'Big House' and so began exploring the lost architecture of Ireland. Here, he documents what is left of fifty mansion houses with brief histories and beautiful photographs of the haunting ruins. Included are Mountpelier Lodge (Dublin Hellfire Club), the birthplaces of Daniel O'Connell and the Duke of Wellington, and the one-time homes of Grace O'Malley and of brewing family the Smithwicks of Kilkenny. The inclusion of details from the 1911 Census offers a glimpse of the closing days of the aristocracy and their mansions.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49658598228241,"sku":"GOR003712426","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50400804372753,"sku":"CIN1848890613G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52699878818065,"sku":"GOR010624482","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53632291012881,"sku":"GOR008101707","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848890613.jpg?v=1750899480"},{"product_id":"abandoned-mansions-of-ireland-ii-book-tarquin-blake-9781848891555","title":"Abandoned Mansions of Ireland II","description":"Following the success of Abandoned Mansions of Ireland, Tarquin Blake documents more forgotten stately homes. These include Elsinore in County Sligo, where William and Jack Butler Yeats spent many childhood summers, and Gortnamona House in County Offaly, built by the 'heir to the principality of Ofelia' in 1803. Auburn House in County Westmeath was named after the 'deserted village' immortalised by the poet Oliver Goldsmith, whose father was a tenant on the estate. The heyday of the Irish country house began in the early 1700s, when most farmland in Ireland was owned by Anglo-Irish Protestant landowners. The land, worked by tenant farmers, fi nanced the increasing opulence of landowners' mansion houses. The Great Famine triggered a change of fortune: starving, penniless tenants could not pay rent and the landowners' fi nances went into decline. Later, the Land Acts transferred land into the ownership of the tenant farmers and, with their rental income removed, many landlords locked up and left. Others frittered away the family fortune trying to maintain a luxurious lifestyle.During the War of Independence and Irish Civil War, country houses became a target for the Irish Republican Army and many were burned. For the remainder of the twentieth century, the increasing expense of maintenance made these houses unviable and hundreds fell into hopeless dereliction. Beautiful, haunting images of these crumbling ruins accompany the histories of the houses and their occupants to tell again a fascinating story of troubled times and private hardships.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49661358342417,"sku":"GOR013716592","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50157786792209,"sku":"GOR005777832","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50669850296593,"sku":"GOR012468510","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848891555.jpg?v=1751091825"},{"product_id":"exploring-ireland-s-castles-book-tarquin-blake-9781848893269","title":"Exploring Ireland's Castles","description":"Whether ruined or opulent, castles have the power to fire the imagination. For almost a millennium, they have studded the Irish countryside. The concept of using building methods to protect territory was introduced from overseas in the twelfth century, when the Irish term caislean began to appear in manuscripts. By the sixteenth century, Ireland had become the most castellated country in Europe.In this latest book, Tarquin Blake takes us on a breathtaking tour of Anglo-Norman fortresses, medieval towers, fortified houses and the neo-Gothic piles of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The castles - including lesser-known gems like Fiddaun Castle in County Galway as well as luxury hotels such as Ashford Castle in County Mayo - are captured in atmospheric photos and brought to life through the true stories of the families whose adventures, struggles and ambitions are reflected in the fortified residences they constructed. By pairing the castles' romantic appearances with in-depth tales of siege, intrigue, conflict and capture, Blake reveals our rich past and startling architectural legacy. Exploring Ireland's Castles is sure to delight any history buff or armchair traveller.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49735970160913,"sku":"NGR9781848893269","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50392332894481,"sku":"CIN1848893264G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51278164132113,"sku":"GOR014214739","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51279019802897,"sku":"GOR009530352","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848893264.jpg?v=1750803272"},{"product_id":"ancient-ireland-book-tarquin-blake-9781848891852","title":"Ancient Ireland","description":"Carrowkeel Passage Tomb in Sligo is an extensive Neolithic passage tomb undisturbed its excavation in 1911. Robert Praeger, one of the excavators, described being one of the first to enter the tomb: 'I lit three candles and stood awhile, to let my eyes accustom themselves to the dim light. There was everything, just as the last man had left it, three to four thousand years before.' On an isolated hillside the tomb is in almost the same undisturbed condition today. Ireland is rich in such monuments and buildings that preserve the stamp of the past. Here, Tarquin Blake and Fiona Reilly explore and document 150 Irish heritage sites across the thirty-two counties. These range from megalithic tombs to round towers, monasteries, castles and ancient churches to the more recent Martello towers and windmills. An engrossing catalogue of remarkable heritage sites is revealed. Each site has an intriguing past and is illustrated with Blake's trademark photographs. Maps and GPS co-ordinates make these sites accessible to the public, from Brian Boru's Fort in County Clare to Moyne Friary in County Mayo.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49947014103313,"sku":"GOR010319154","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50317102973201,"sku":"GOR007668186","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50475564171537,"sku":"GOR013965386","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848891857.jpg?v=1751346759"},{"product_id":"haunted-ireland-book-tarquin-blake-9781848892231","title":"Haunted Ireland","description":"This latest book from Tarquin Blake delves into the world of Irish ghosts, vampires, witches, werewolves and other spectral tales. Through detailed research of stories of unexplained phenomena, Blake found most could be dismissed as pure fiction but now and then he found something spooky that substantiated with historical or physical evidence. He drew up a list of 'true' ghost stories, researched each in detail, and set out to photograph Haunted Ireland. Each location was photographed using normal and infrared cameras. Infrared photography captures electromagnetic radiation invisible to the human eye and portrays a stunning world where vegetation takes on an ethereal glow and buildings, stone and ruins appea in stark contrast. Some say infrared photography, with its long exposures, can bend our perception of time and provide a glimpse into the spirit world. Collating the ghost stories with powerful images of where these stories played out, Haunted Ireland reveals an engrossing catalogue of tales of the unexplained, the spooky unknown, haunted caves, phantom ships, poltergeists and many other strange tales.From the curse of Castlelyons in County Cork to Abhartach the vampire dwarf of County Derry, from the Coonian Poltergeist in Fermanagh to the Werewolves of Ossory in Kilkeeny and Laois, these stories will amuse or raise the hairs on the back of your neck.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50422053863697,"sku":"GOR008490498","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51092116996369,"sku":"GOR011958283","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848892233.jpg?v=1750866652"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/collections\/author-books-by-tarquin-blake.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}