OVER the years Peter Ackroyd has emerged as a prolific writer; whether that be as novelist, historian or biographer. Here he has taken as a canvass the life and times of the River Thames. But it is not the Thames as we know it. This is Ackroyd s Thames: a

OVER the years Peter Ackroyd has emerged as a prolific writer; whether that be as novelist, historian or biographer.

Here he has taken as a canvass the life and times of the River Thames.

But it is not the Thames as we know it. This is Ackroyd's Thames: and as usual with such a writer he unearths the most surprising and entertaining details in telling his tale.

Ackroyd uncovers the great and the good who played a role in the history of the Thames and then turns to the life of the river itself and its development as both a highway and a source of power.

It certainly is a compelling story.