The Life of John Metcalf by John Metcalf
Blinded by smallpox at the age of six, John Metcalf (1717–1810) led a life that might have featured in an eighteenth-century novel. Popularly known as 'Blind Jack of Knaresborough', Metcalf had many and varied careers, including musician, horse trader, fish supplier, textile merchant and stage-wagon operator. Developing a method for building roads on marshy ground, using heather and gorse as a foundation, he eventually became one of the eighteenth century's great road builders, laying over 120 miles of high-quality roads in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire and Cheshire. Published in 1795 and based on conversations with Metcalf, this book recounts his life in a series of anecdotes. Metcalf starts with his boyhood escapades, and his becoming an accomplished swimmer, climber and gambler. Among the later episodes recounted are his services in raising troops to fight Jacobite rebels, during which he was present at the battles of Falkirk Muir and Culloden.
Metcalf, John: -
John Metcalf has been one of the leading editors in Canada for more than five decades, editing more than 200 books over this time, including 18 volumes of the Best Canadian Stories series. He is also the author of more than a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction, including Vital Signs: Collected Novellas, An Aesthetic Underground: A Literary Memoir, Shut Up He Explained, The Canadian Short Story, and The Museum at the End of the World. Senior Fiction Editor at Biblioasis, he lives in Ottawa.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781108079136 |
| ISBN 10 | 110807913X |
| Title | The Life of John Metcalf |
| Author | John Metcalf |
| Series | Cambridge Library Collection - Technology |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year published | 2017-08-10 |
| Number of pages | 166 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |