Change and Tradition in Rural England
An Anthology of Writings on Country Life

This 1980 anthology contains of some of the finest and most significant writing on English country life.

Denys Thompson (Edited by)

9780521129169, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 February 2010

316 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.7 cm, 0.37 kg

This 1980 anthology contains of some of the finest and most significant writing on English country life from Cobbett through Jefferies, Sturt, hardy, Hudson and Flora Thompson to Thomas Hennell and Adrian Bell. A good many of the selections are taken from books originally published by Cambridge University Press. None of the authors is nostalgic about country life. They all wanted a better future for country people but their primary aim was to describe what they saw. A survey is offered of the peasant civilisation of England, which, despite widespread poverty and hardship, encouraged people to go on living and produced a wealth of folk song and a wide range of craft-work. The authors go on to record the changes brought about by large-scale farming and the concomitant heavy investment in machinery and chemicals. Denys Thompson anticipates the anthology as a reminder of human achievement and potential, and his substantial general and sectional introductions show how the lessons and values of the past can be used to revitalise an industrial civilisation.

General introduction
Part I. A Home-Made Civilisation: 1. Introduction
2. Vestiges George Bourne
3. The peasant system George Bourne
4. The 'Estatesmen' William Wordsworth and Harriet Martineau
5. Peasant survivors Flora Thompson
6. Cottages William Wordsworth
7. English tradition and idiom Adrian Bell
7a. Words Edward Thomas
8. Aspects
8a. The peasant life, tradition, 'good old days'? George Sturt
8b. Attitudes, speech Cecil Torr
8c. Folk tales George Bourne
9. Living evidence Cecil Sharp
10. The impact of enclosures
10a. Sixteenth century Thomas More
10b. Eighteenth century John Byng
10c. Nineteenth century Walter Rose, George Bourne
Part II. Masters and Men: The Farming Life: 11. Introduction
12. The farm labourer William Cobbett
13. Childhood
13a. In Scotland, 1820 Alexander Somerville
13b. In the Fens, 1850–1860 Mrs Burrows
13c. In Warwickshire, 1835–1840 Joseph Arch
14. The farm as it was
14a. The carter and the stable, bullock-teams, waggons and carts, sowing, harvesting in the old style, gleaning, stacking and rick-making Thomas Hennell
15. The great barn and the sheep-shearers Thomas Hardy
16. Summer Richard Jefferies
17. Harvesting Richard Jefferies
18. Unemployed Richard Jefferies
19. Work and play M. K. Ashby
20. Cottagers and their homes Flora Thompson
21. Men afield Flora Thompson
22. The vale of the Wylye W. H. Hudson
23. The unconscious art H. J. Massingham
24. The labourer Adrian Bell
Part III. Living at Work: Crafts and Skills: 25. Introduction
26. The wheelwrights' way of life
26a. Buying, kindly feeling, waggons, 'jobbing', prices George Sturt
27. Response to need: the carpenter's work: 27a. The shop, work on the farm Walter Rose
28. A shepherd on the downs W. H. Hudson
29. Three characters W. H. Hudson
30. John Brown Richard Jefferies
Part IV. The Future: 31. Leisure George Bourne
32. A form of insanity George Sturt
33. The need for guidance George Sturt
34. Civilisation astray George Sturt
Conclusion
Notes
Sources
Related reading
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]