Between 1801 and 1851, more than 10,000 people moved to the small fishing village of Torquay. This fascinating book, containing more than 200 photographs and postcards (vastly popular in an age where telephones were only found in the very richest of homes), explores the history of Torquay through the lens of Francis Beford, photographer to Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales and one of England's most respected landscape photographers, and the men who followed him.

Drawn by the promise of beautiful scenery and a pleasant climate, visitors began to arrive from the wealthy elite of England, prevented from holidaying on the continent by the Napoleonic Wars and therefore seeking pleasure nearer to home (bringing with them their demands for fine houses, servants and a luxurious standard of living) to the humbler tourist and the invalid in search of a cure.

Beginning more than 140 years ago, this book explores the style and grandeur of the town, the many fine villas and grand hotels built to accommodate the needs of the guests, the evolution of the railway and small villages surrounding the town, the seafront, the shops and traders, and the social occasions and cafe life of the 1920s and '30s. These images, many of which are published here for the first time, represent a vital part of the town's heritage.