The sprawling urban conurbation that is Swindon began life as an
Anglo-Saxon defensible settlement atop a limestone hill. Old Swindon
would likely have remained a sleepy market town were it not for the
Industrial Revolution. The subsequent acceleration in Swindon's growth
began with the construction of the Wilts & Berks Canal in 1810, though
the real transformative factor came between 1841 and 1842 with the
historic decision by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Daniel Gooch to
establish their Great Western Railway works in Swindon, leading to the
birth of a new town: New Swindon. Today's Swindon is a surprising,
multilayered, creative hotspot that is home to artists and writers of
every genre and calibre. In Secret Swindon, author Angela Atkinson
explores some of the lesser-known episodes and characters in the history
of this Wiltshire town, bringing to life tales of those who have lived
in it and the places they inhabited.