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£25.00
Published
17 February 2026Hardback
9781913083199Ebook
9781913083205Press Release
Coming soon.By Chris Moss:
‘Moss takes us through a near-mythical landscape, a disappearing county of witches, mills, dales, meres, pop music and the first industrial proletariat. An engrossing tour of the landscape that created modern Britain’ NICHOLAS BLINCOE
Through cotton, canals and railways, science, television and sport, Lancashire helped shape the modern world. Liverpool was once the UK’s busiest port, Manchester its industrial powerhouse; Blackpool invented the working-class seaside resort. Lancashire was the first part of Britain to industrialise – but also the first to see those industries decline.
In Lancashire, travel writer Chris Moss returns to his native county after almost four decades away. To make sense of the deep past and the recent convulsions of Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside, he visits familiar and unknown corners, seeking a sense of place as well as the elusive sensation of a homecoming.
Exploring a county that is often misunderstood, even maligned. Lancashire reaches beyond caricatures and clichés to trace lines from the region’s long history to its conflicted, contradictory present.
'A Lancastrian rediscovers Lancashire: a deeply personal, well-crafted account of the Red Rose county’s past and present’
—Brian Groom
- 'Wandering through these pages I had the feeling I was walking familiar territory and seeing it anew in the company of a clear eyed, ever curious, tender hearted guide. Chris Moss's journey through Lancashire is also a journey into the life he left behind. I for one am pleased he came back home.'
—Jeff Young, author of Ghost Town: A Liverpool Shadowplay - 'Chris Moss takes a no-holds-barred approach to his home county, paying tribute to the achievements of Lancashire without shying away from the troublesome aspects of its history – and of its present reality. A winning combination of history, memoir, and irreverent humour, it's a fitting tribute to the greatest county in England.'
—David Swift, author of Scouse Republic - 'Lancashire was a grand old county. Then someone sawed it off at the knees by amputating Liverpool and Manchester. All power then to Chris Moss, who makes this magical place whole again. Here is a giant revived, tall with tales of witches, subversives, candy-floss and coal'
—Paul du Noyer - 'Not just an overdue survey, but an unusually enquiring one – an admirable examination of an incomparably important county'
—Derek Turner, Country Squire Magazine - '…makes an excellent companion piece to Brian Groom’s recent books on the North and Manchester'
—Graeme Whitfield, Northern Agenda - 'A fascinating book that combines history, travel and culture with a look at the past to make sense of the present… A truly compelling read'
—Sylvia Hikins, Morning Star - 'With its sprawling account of Lancashire’s past—the Pendle witches, Peterloo, Corrie and The Smiths—this thoughtful book does much to evoke its distinctive character, not least a sense of humour artfully captured in The Liver Birds, Bread and The Royle Family, reminders that the region is defined less by its boundaries and more by a dry wit'
—Giles Kime, Country Life
Chris Moss
CHRIS MOSS was born in Lancashire in 1966 and has lived in London, Buenos Aires, South Wales and Devon. He has written a cultural history of Patagonia, a literary compendium for London commuters, a flight-free guide to Europe and guidebooks to several countries. He now lives back in Lancashire near Pendle Hill. His next book is based on his ‘Where Tourists Seldom Tread’ column in the Guardian.