Brunel’s Britain by Derrick Beckett (Paperback, 2016)

Last Updated on April 23, 2026

Brunel’s Britain by Derrick Beckett (Paperback, 2016).

In the 1820s Isambard Kingdom Brunel wrote ‘What a life, the life of a dreamer – I am always building castles in the air, what time I waste..

This book by expert Derrick Beckett, describes how these castles materialized into some of Britain’s best engineering achievements and still form an integral part of the rail network today.

Features of the book include:

• A chronicle of events and the lives of Marc Isambard and Isambard Kingdom Brunel

• The era of railways and the line from Paddington to Penzance

• Stations, bridges, tunnels and locomotives

• The three great steamships

• A gazetteer of 35 principal locations

• A unique technical appendix quantifying

Brunel’s works

This book was previously for sale at Margot’s Books. The shop is now closed — this post is kept as an archive record only.