PENGUIN MODERN CLASSICS : LARK RISE TO CANDLEFORD – FLORA THOMPSON-RICHARD MABEY

Flora Thompson s immortal trilogy, containing Lark Rise , Over To Candleford and Candleford Green , is a heartwarming portrayal of country life at the close of the 19th century. This story of three closely related Oxfordshire communities – a hamlet, the nearby village and a small market town – is based on the author s experiences during childhood and youth. It chronicles May Day celebrations and forgotten children s games, the daily lives of farmworkers and craftsmen, friends and relations – all painted with a gaiety and freshness of observation that make this trilogy an evocative and sensitive memorial to Victorian rural England. With a new introduction by Richard Mabey