Books

Country life, in every aspect, has changed more rapidly and more dramatically within living memory than at any other time in our history.  This superb book reveals just what has happened in more detail than ever before, what has vanished and what has replaced it, in cottages and gardens, country houses and estates, along the lanes and hedgerows and in the villages.  Valerie Porter examines the minutiae of everyday life and how it has changed for men, women and children’ their work and play, in wartime and in peace, in prosperity and in poverty.

The book is illustrated with a wonderful collection of evocative, specially researched photographs – many have been gleaned from the archives of The Countryman magazine.  These pictures reflect a vanished past, and a way of life that many may yearn for.  But the author looks back with realism; for what was it really like to live in the countryside without so many of the ‘mod cons’ we now take for granted?  She compares the past with the present, and in defiance of rose-tinted nostalgia reveals that many aspects of country living are thriving, albeit in a different form from their traditional image.  The fragile future of the living countryside rests in our hands – this fascinating book reminds us to take care of it.

Hardback.