Craftland: A Journey Through Britain’s Lost Arts and Vanishing Trades – James Fox

Published By: Vintage
Pages: 368
Released On: 03/09/2026 (Paperback)

From the Isles of Scilly to the Scottish Highlands, James Fox travels the length of Britain to seek out the country’s last great craftspeople.

Stepping inside the workshops of blacksmiths and wheelwrights, cutlers and coopers, bellfounders and watchmakers, we glimpse not only our past but another way of life: one that is not yet lost and might still shape our future.

For as long as there are humans, there will be craft. It is all around us, hiding in plain sight, animating even the most ordinary things. Fox shows that Britain is still a craft land, if only we have eyes to see it.

*****

Thanks to NetGalley and Vintage for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

I have been really excited about reading this!

Now I am a massive history nerd so this was right up my street, but I think even the most casual reader or historian would be interested in this.

It’s informative but also emotive. James has caught a sense of nostalgia, but not necessarily in a rose-tinted way. It is quite sad to see how extinct these very British crafts have become.

I like that the chapters were relatively short. Non-fiction books tend to have longer chapters which I’m not a fan of. This kept the book quite sharp and snappy, meaning it was quick to read and you never get too bogged down in facts.

What was interesting is that a lot of the creations from these crafts are still in use, but we never give any thought as to where they came from, and it’s like we’re taking advantage of someone’s talent. So that was special.

James has included maps and sketches and illustrations to help make his point and they really added depth to the words.

I read it like I do a novel, from cover to cover in one or two sittings. I don’t recommend that. Whilst it is very well written and is interesting, there is a lot of information to take in, and reading it in one big chunk was a bit too much at times and it’s hard to fully absorb everything. So I would advise reading one chapter at a time to give you time to digest the content before moving on to the next one.