In late 19th century, Cornwall hand-knitting was a vital cottage industry and coastal villages developed their own distinctive patterns and names for the traditional navy blue guernsey or knit-frock. This book includes many contemporary photographs, and shows how to knit a Cornish guernsey incorporating one of thirty local patterns.

Evelyn Atkins and her sister Babs were two middle-aged sisters who lived in suburban Surrey and led the humdrum life of so many commuters. Then Evelyn broke her leg and it meant an early retirement from her demanding job. The two sisters scraped together the money to buy an island off Cornwall.

Dr Jonathan Couch was Cornwall's foremost naturalist in the 19th century. This work draws on the Royal Institution of Cornwall's extensive collection of his material, in particular his hitherto unpublished study of Cornish birds and his "Journal of Natural History".