"Jodie Matthews writes with a beautifully polyphonic voice … aptly reflecting the multidimensional nature of the canal as a place where the ghosts of our imperial, industrial past co-exist with our restless present and the prospect of a catastrophically different future. With all the rigor of academic enquiry and the clarity and lyricism of the very element Matthews writes about, this wonderful book exposes the porosity of the past and the edges of our natures."

J. L. M. Morton, poet

"A meticulously researched work. This is a much needed counterpoint to the current tendency of clothing the world of the waterways in a cloud of nostalgia – or, more recently, 'living the dream' – mythologising both the environment and the people of the canals."

Kate Saffin, writer and modern working boatwoman

"In a book by turns scholarly, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking, Matthews uses the literature of the canal to interrogate history, culture and the politics of nostalgia. Our waterways, cutting through the landscape and fulfilling the role of both industry and nature, tend to be both overlooked and taken for granted … The British Industrial Canal explores how they have impacted our society and continue to have relevance into the future."

Sarah Jasmon, author of The Summer of Secrets (2015) and You Never Told Me (2020)