The Oblivion of Trevithick.

Down through the ages many brave men tried to tame the strange power released from boiling water. Long ago they were seen as alchemists who practised the dark arts of their dangerous pastimes. It was not until the early C19th that Richard Trevithick demonstrated his successful cylindrical boiler and tamed the Devil within. It was Trevithick who invented the steam engine we all recognise and love, the engine that was demanded by industrials to power most of the Industrial and all the Transport Revolutions; the one found today, with little fundamental change in power stations and nuclear submarines.

In these pages Philip Hosken has turned detective to discover the reasons behind Trevithick’s obscurity. He has examined the lives of other inventors. He has answered whether James Watt was the thorn in Trevithick’s side, what parts did his family and friends play? Trevithick put his trust in the highest in the land, why did they deceive him? What could they hope to gain by carelessly damning this poor, hardworking Cornishman to oblivion?

Engineering genius, Pacific pearl fisherman and family man, there is no story like that of Richard Trevithick. He deserves a better place in history.

“Philip Hosken’s detailed study is clearly the product of a tremendous amount of research, which takes a highly original approach and is written from an unbiased viewpoint. Although to many Trevithick admirers the author’s challenge to so-called accepted facts may at first appear somewhat controversial, Hosken’s work may nevertheless go a long way to helping us understand the motivations and character of this great, unsung genius, as well as that of his collaborators and contemporaries” Simon Parker, Western Morning News

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