Landscape with Figures: An anthology of Richard Jefferies's Prose (Penguin English Library) - Softcover

Richard Jefferies

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140431462 ISBN 13: 9780140431469

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd., 1983

Synopsis

From the father of English nature writing: a superb selection of essays about rural England in the 1800s, with an introduction by the celebrated writer Richard Mabey Richard Jefferies was the most important and imaginative observers of the natural world in the nineteenth century. Trekking across the English countryside, he recorded his responses to everything from the texture of an owl's feather and "noises in the air" to the grinding hardship of rural labor. This fantastic selection of his essays and articles shows a writer who is brimming with intense feeling, acutely aware of the land and those who work on it, and often ambivalent about the countryside. Who does it belong to? Is it a place, an experience, or a way of life? In these passionate and idiosyncratic writings, almost all our current ideas and concerns about rural life can be found. Celebrated nature writer Richard Mabey's introduction to his selection of Jefferies' work discusses the author's life, his views on the paradoxes of rural life, and his place in the tradition of nature writers, and helps us see Jefferies in a whole new way. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

About this title

About the Author:

RICHARD JEFFERIES (1848-1887) was the father of English nature writing, authoring many nonfiction books and essays about the subject. He also wrote several novels, including the classic children's book Bevis and the apocalyptic science-fiction novel After London. RICHARD MABEY (editor/introducer) is the author of more than thirty books, which have won the English National Book Award and been finalists for the Whitbread, the Ondaatje, and the J. R. Ackerley prizes. He writes for the Guardian, New Statesman, and Granta, and contributes frequently to BBC radio. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2011.

Synopsis:

Essays portray the daily life of the inhabitants of rural England and discuss animal behavior and other aspects of natural history.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd.
• Publication date: 1983
• ISBN 10: 0140431462
• ISBN 13: 9780140431469
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320