Surrey, one of England's smallest counties, has for centuries embodied contrasts in style and appearance. In the north where its boundary is the Thames, there is industrial and, more recently, suburban London, and further South, are the more rural areas of the Downs and Weald, which were the playground for 'Londoners' for centuries. This book looks at these dual areas as they were a century ago. Some of the best old photographs available have been collected together and reproduced here, in sepia, with an accompanying text made up of extracts gathered from contemporary writing from all over the county. Thus some evocative sights of old Surrey, from the tanneries of Southwark to the elegance of Victorian Epsom, are brought to life in these pages.

• The launch of the new Amberley

  list is being accompanied by the promotion of a range of local and regional

  books of which this is one.

• Review

  and feature coverage in Surrey newspapers