No. 1

Set in Regency England 1810-1825, 'No. 1' draws on the real and the imagined from the North East of England present at the birth of the railways, starting on 18th September 1810 and finishing there on 28th September 1825, the day after the first ever railway trip between two towns, a first that changed history. History didn't record it inadvertently carrying a boy fleeing from a miscarriage of justice and an ex-Waterloo veteran intent on silencing him, but history can now be straightened out. In this ambitious recreation by Darlington-born writer Antony J Stowers, fact and fiction are blended through real-life personalities, known historical events and ordinary people whose lives were impacted by this revolutionary technology. It also features a re-imagined but detailed account of the opening itself on 27th September 1825. The cover is by Terence Cuneo MBE.