Portrait of (book series)

The Portrait of books is a series of topographical works describing the cities, counties, and regions of Britain and some of the regions of France. The series was published by Robert Hale from the early 1960s to the mid 1980s and is part of a genre of topographical books in which Robert Hale specialised.[1]

Titles in the "Portrait of" series

Its immediate predecessors were the County Books and Regional Books series while the Regions of Britain series was published contemporaneously in the 1970s. There was also a Villages series. A number of the Portrait series were republished in new editions titled "The Illustrated Portrait of...".

Described variously as neither literature,[2] a history, or a guide book, the works attempted to sum-up the atmosphere of their area, and "the lives of its people, past and present".[3]

The artwork for a number of the series dust jackets were designed by illustrator Val Biro.

List of titles

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This is an incomplete list of titles. Each title was prefixed with the words "Portrait of".

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rural Mappings" by Catherine Brace in Paul J. Cloke, ed. (2003). Country Visions. Harlow: Pearson Education. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-13-089601-8.
  2. ^ a b "The trees, bushes and windows are alive", The Times, 30 November 1968, p. 22.
  3. ^ a b "Love of the country" by Mary Cosh, The Times, 30 May 1980, p. I.
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