We love bigging up our city, and this month we’re shining a light on some of its co-celebrators. Here are five Bath-related books for you to get your teeth into in 2025…
The Mismatch of the Season by Michelle Kenney
Miss Phoebe Fairfax dreams of being being as as free as her four brothers. When she discovers she is to be wed to a repugnant earl, she decides to embark on a real adventure. Phoebe finds herself in a duel with the Somerset Highwayman, before being rescued by an arrogant bachelor Viscount Damerel, the most irritatingly handsome man Phoebe has ever set eyes upon… The Mismatch of the Season by Michelle Kenney, publishing in January, is a Regency romance with a contemporary feminist approach set in Bath. It asks what it means to be a heroine in any age and is suitable for readers of Jane Austen and Julia Quinn. harpercollins.co.uk
Three Down by Richard Philips
As Jack Mayhew’s life begins to unravel and memories of his tumultuous past resurface, all seems lost. In a moment of despair, he collapses into the sea off Amalfi, surrendering to his fate.
During his early years, Jack’s self-doubt fuels both his ambition and his weakness for women. By adulthood, he has suffered at the hands of three people. As his business crumbles, driven by anger, Jack embarks on a journey of revenge and redemption. Success in the corporate world follows, but so does tragedy… Set between Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham and Worcestershire in the 1960s and 1980s, Three Down by Richard Phillips, published by The Book Guild Publishing, portrays Jack’s tumultuous life from childhood to adulthood.
bookguild.co.uk
The City of Bath: Enduring Structures and Transient Lives by Paul J Gooch
Paul J Gooch, a passionate photographer from Bath, has recently self-published a photobook called The City of Bath: Enduring Structures and Transient Lives. The photobook is a celebration of the heritage of Bath’s classical architecture and also features the transient people who live, work and socialise in the City of Bath, often using long or multiple exposures. Paul was awarded an Associate Distinction by the Royal Photographic Society for an earlier version of the book, and it includes a section with historical images of Bath alongside Paul’s own images made in the current day. The book concludes with a section on sustainability and conservation. Available from pauljgooch.com at a price of £36, as well as from Topping & Company Booksellers in York Street and le fou de bassan in Green Street.
Walks to Works 2 by Paul Fiser
It’s not immediately apparent that Bath and Bradford on Avon were formed by industry, first medieval cloth making followed by a host of Industrial Revolution enterprises and then on to an engineering tradition that still thrives. Walks to Works 2 by Paul Fisher is a fresh take on two old river towns that have been defined by industry every bit as much as by the established Roman and Georgian heritage way of seeing them.
Published by Smallish Books, Walks to Works 2 is available in Bath’s best bookshops. paulfisher95@googlemail.com
The Great Post Office Cover-Up by Nick Wallis
Author of The Great Post Office Scandal, Nick Wallis is writing a new book to be released in 2025: The Great Post Office Cover-Up. Acting as a companion to the first book, and using transcripts, interviews, and documents, Wallis will tell the story from inside the Post Office, Fujitsu and the Government, while also referring to developments over the last three years. You can pre-order the book from Bath Publishing’s cintopress.co.uk, currently available at a reduced price as a £15 (plus P&P) signed limited edition hardback and a £10 (plus P&P) paperback; 5% of proceeds will be donated to the Horizon Scandal Fund.