The canals of England and Wales are some two hundred years old. They revolutionised the transport of goods before being largely superseded by the faster railways and have become a monument to a way of life harder and more frugal than those who now use the canals for their leisure pursuits would choose. However, the boaters who lived and worked on the narrowboats of these canals were people who tried to make their homes as comfortable and decorative as they could. This book reflects the author's continuing interests in the life of the boaters on the canals and includes her researches into the handicrafts of the boat-women and their families.