Lark Rise (Penguin Essentials)

by Flora Thompson (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1999

  $3.25

  Flora Thompson's beautifully observed portrait of village life at the end of the nineteenth century chronicles a society on the brink of change. Set in an Oxfordshire hamlet, LARK RISE tells of the people who make up the small, tightly-knit farming community. Among them, the gossip, the midwife, the pedlars, the borrowers, the gypsies, the clerics and the old folk who hate to see traditions fade. Lively, lyrical accounts of long-forgotten children's games and May Day celebrations, of customs and beliefs, are tinged with an underlying awareness that this rich culture was about to vanish forever.

• Used

  Paperback
  2009

  $3.25

  Sensitive and book-loving Laura is born in the rural hamlet of Lark Rise, where life has followed an unchanging pattern for centuries and the days are governed by the rhythms of nature. This is the unforgettable story of her beloved home: a place where children know the name of every bird, flower and tree; men work the fields; women gossip over the fence; and the last relics of country customs have yet to die out. Whether it is describing ancient traditions such as the Mayday garland procession, bringing the harvest home and singing ballads in the local inn, or introducing characters such as Laura's radical father, the pioneering Mrs Spicer, the eccentric bee-keeping Queenie and ladies who wear bustles to feed the pigs, this first part of Flora Thompson's autobiographical Lark Rise to Candleford trilogy captures a vanished corner of rural England and the timeless joys of childhood.