The Forager's Calendar


Book Description

'He writes so engagingly that it's hard to imagine that actual foraging can be more attractive than reading his accounts of it. ...[This book] is a treasure. It is beautifully produced, designed and illustrated.' - John Carey, The Sunday Times WINNER OF THE GUILD OF FOOD WRITERS AWARD FOR FOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 WINNER OF WOODLANDS AWARDS BEST WOODLAND BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 Look out of your window, walk down a country path or go to the beach in Great Britain, and you are sure to see many wild species that you can take home and eat. From dandelions in spring to sloe berries in autumn, via wild garlic, samphire, chanterelles and even grasshoppers, our countryside is full of edible delights in any season. John Wright is the country's foremost expert in foraging and brings decades of experience, including as forager at the River Cottage, to this seasonal guide. Month by month, he shows us what species can be found and where, how to identify them, and how to store, use and cook them. You'll learn the stories behind the Latin names, the best way to tap a Birch tree, and how to fry an ant, make rosehip syrup and cook a hop omelette. Fully illustrated throughout, with tips on kit, conservation advice and what to avoid, this is an indispensable guide for everyone interested in wild food, whether you want to explore the great outdoors, or are happiest foraging from your armchair.




A Country Calendar, and Other Writings


Book Description

A collection of the articles Flora Thompson wrote for a small magazine, the Catholic fireside, between 1916 and 1928, when she lived in Liphook in Hampshire as the postmaster's wife. Her interest was captured by many things, including a kestrel hunting in the January skies, the return of migrant birds in April, the remedial properites of the elder tree, and the solitary life of the ploughman. Flora Thompson is perhaps best-known as the author of the country classic, Lark rise to Candleford, and her remarkable observations about the countryside form a valuable part of the history of rural England.




For Better, for Worse


Book Description

Explores the diverse ways ordinary men and women have organized their conjugal relationships since the sixteenth century. ... a massive compilation of fascinating information.' The Times Educational Supplement.




On the Trail of Flora Thompson


Book Description

The author has turned detective. In this book, he discovers the true identities behind the pseudonyms which Flora Thompson employed within her writing to hide the identity of the people and places she encountered 'beyond Candleford Green.' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and George Bernard Shaw were two among many eminent people who were regular customers in her post office at Grayshott-unaware that the shy young lady sending their telegrams would one day rank alongside themselves on literary shelves. But the lesser-known characters also lend their own interest to the story. Who was 'Mr Foreshaw, ' the retired big-game hunter with whom she had tea on Sunday afternoons? And 'Richard Brownlow, ' the young man who met her often, then told her he 'could never marry her'? And 'Bob Pikesley' who taught her how to keep dry in a rainstorm? And the bright-eyed 'Alma Stedman' who kept Flora from 'brooding'? And who was the unfortunate 'Mr Hertford, ' her employer at Grayshott, who eventually stabbed his wife to death shortly after Flora left the village? These and other riddles are answered. There is also a 'lost' chapter of Flora's own work published here for the first time, and the opportunity to follow literally in Flora's footsteps by taking the suggested 'trails' through the Hampshire countryside she came to love so well.




Writers, Readers, and Reputations


Book Description

Philip Waller explores the literary world in which the modern best-seller first emerged, with writers promoted as stars and celebrities, advertising both products and themselves.




The Old Farmer's Almanac 2021


Book Description

Happy New Almanac Year! It's time to celebrate the newest edition of The Old Farmer's Almanac! Long recognized as North America's most-beloved and best-selling annual, the handy yellow book fulfills every need and expectation as a calendar of the heavens, a time capsule of the year, an essential reference that reads like a magazine. Always timely, topical, and distinctively "useful, with a pleasant degree of humor," the Almanac is consulted daily by users from all walks of life, throughout the year. The 2021 edition contains the fun facts, predictions, and feature items that have made it a cultural icon: traditionally 80 percent-accurate weather forecasts; notable astronomical events and time-honored astrological dates; horticultural, culinary, fashion, and other trends; historical hallmarks; best fishing days; time- and money-saving garden advice; recipes for refreshment; facts on folklore, farmers, home remedies, and husbandry; amusements and contests, plus too much more to mention--all in the inimitable way that the Almanac has done since 1792.




A Historical Dictionary of British Women


Book Description

This reference book, containing the biographies of more than 1,100 notable British women from Boudicca to Barbara Castle, is an absorbing record of female achievement spanning some 2,000 years of British life. Most of the lives included are those of women whose work took them in some way before the public and who therefore played a direct and important role in broadening the horizons of women. Also included are women who influenced events in a more indirect way: the wives of kings and politicians, mistresses, ladies in waiting and society hostesses. Originally published as The Europa Biographical Dictionary of British Women, this newly re-worked edition includes key figures who have died in the last 20 years, such as The Queen Mother, Baroness Ryder of Warsaw, Elizabeth Jennings and Christina Foyle.




Encyclopedia of Life Writing


Book Description

First published in 2001. This is the first substantial reference work in English on the various forms that constitute "life writing." As this term suggests, the Encyclopedia explores not only autobiography and biography proper, but also letters, diaries, memoirs, family histories, case histories, and other ways in which individual lives have been recorded and structured. It includes entries on genres and subgenres, national and regional traditions from around the world, and important auto-biographical writers, as well as articles on related areas such as oral history, anthropology, testimonies, and the representation of life stories in non-verbal art forms.




A Guide to Twentieth Century Literature in English


Book Description

First published in 1983, A Guide to Twentieth Century Literature in English is a detailed and comprehensive guide containing over 500 entries on individual writers from countries including Africa, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the UK. The book contains substantial articles relating to major novelists, poets, and dramatists of the age, as well as a wealth of information on the work of lesser-known writers and the part they have played in cultural history. It focuses in detail on the character and quality of the literature itself, highlighting what is distinctive in the work of the writers being discussed and providing key biographical and contextual details. A Guide to Twentieth Century Literature in English is ideal for those with an interest in the twentieth century literary scene and the history of literature more broadly.




Calendar of Dust


Book Description