Pandaemonium: The Coming of the Machine as Seen by Contemporary Observers 1660-1886

The book which inspired Danny Boyle's unforgettable Olympic opening ceremony, featuring an exclusive Foreword by ceremony scriptwriter Frank Cotterell-Boyce. ‘A masterpiece of collage that reads like a novel’ The Times. Collecting texts taken from letters, diaries, literature, scientific journals and reports, Pandæmonium gathers a beguiling narrative as it traces the development of the machine age in Britain. Covering the years between 1660 and 1886, it offers… (plus)

The book which inspired Danny Boyle's unforgettable Olympic opening ceremony, featuring an exclusive Foreword by ceremony scriptwriter Frank Cotterell-Boyce. ‘A masterpiece of collage that reads like a novel’ The Times. Collecting texts taken from letters, diaries, literature, scientific journals and reports, Pandæmonium gathers a beguiling narrative as it traces the development of the machine age in Britain. Covering the years between 1660 and 1886, it offers a rich tapestry of human experience, from eyewitness reports of the Luddite Riots and the Peterloo Massacre to more intimate accounts of child labour, Utopian communities, the desecration of the natural world, ground-breaking scientific experiments, and the coming of the railways. Humphrey Jennings, co-founder of the Mass-Observation movement of the 1930s and acclaimed documentary film-maker, has assembled an enthralling narrative of this key period in Britain’s national consciousness.Originally published in 1985, Pandæmonium was the inspiration behind Danny Boyle’s electrifying opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Frank Cottrell Boyce, who wrote the scenario for the ceremony, contributes a revealing new foreword for this edition