Wednesday 19 December 2012
The City At Your Fingertips As New Encyclopaedia Of Brighton Goes Digital
The popular New Encyclopaedia of Brighton is now available in digital format for the first time. The e-version of this definitive guide to Brighton has been updated with many new sections and more listings than ever before.
A vibrant guide to the city’s history and current scene, the work features people and places alongside quotes and anecdotes for a fascinating insight into Brighton.
In 2010, local author and historian Rose Collis was commissioned to write the print version of New Encyclopaedia of Brighton for publication by Brighton & Hove City Libraries.
Rose has researched and written the new 2012 content for the expanded e-version.
Updated sections include the AMEX Community Stadium, Gay Brighton, seafront and the Old Steine.
Rose said: “I'm delighted that, with the launch of the Kindle edition of the New Encyclopaedia of Brighton, the book will now be more accessible to readers throughout the UK and around the world, where there are many former Brightonians who retain a keen interest in this city and, in particular, to the many overseas visitors who come here every year.
“I have also welcomed the opportunity to update a large number of sections - for instance, the opening of the wonderful Amex stadium - and to make corrections to other sections.
I'm particularly thrilled that the dozens of web links included in the 2010 edition will be accessible 'live' on Kindle readers.”
The e-version makes the encyclopaedia far more portable than its predecessor.
The 2010 print version is A4 size and weighs almost 1.5kg, and is a favourite coffee table talking piece in many homes.
Now the 370 printed pages of A-to-Z listings have been transformed into a comprehensive digital reference source, as heavy to carry as the e-reader of choice.
This new format gives people the opportunity to easily take a vast wealth of local information out and about around the city.
The digital release is suitable for Kindle and other e-reading devices. The e-version is available to buy online, providing access to more information than ever before at a lower cost than the print version. Amazon is selling the e-version for £8.04.
Cllr Geoffrey Bowden, chair of the council’s economic development and culture committee, said:
“Rose Collis’ reputation as one of the city’s foremost historians will rightly be enhanced by the publication in digital format of her best-selling reference book. I am sure that this will be an essential download stocking filler this Christmas.”
Did you know? A taster of Brighton facts and figures include:
•The last live show at the Hippodrome was a concert by the Beatles in 1964
•Brighton's first supermarket, Fine Fare, opened in 1955 in Western Road and was said to be 'the largest of its kind in Europe'
•The Royal Pavilion is the only royal palace in Britain not owned by the State or Crown
•Virginia Woolf had her last restaurant meal in the Sussex Grill in Ship Street on March 27 1941, she drowned herself in the River Ouse the following morning
•The first plane to land in Brighton did so in 1911, a Bleriot monoplane which landed on the beach near Paston Place
•Comedian Dave Allen began his career as a Butlin's Redcoat at the Ocean Hotel. He was giving a tour to guests when it began to rain so lead them into the ballroom, grabbed a stool, and began telling stories for an hour
•The Running Horse pub in King Street was Brighton's first courthouse
•A recording of the bells of St Peter's Church is played in the Church of St Peter del Mar, near San Diego, California
•Singer Leo Sayer helped to rescue guests from a fire at the King's Hotel when he was working there as an 18-year-old porter.
by: Mike Cobley
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