Under the parish lantern

by Fred Archer

Under the parish lantern

169 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Martin Empson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annoyingly whimsical in places... but with some real gems. The story of the battle about the location of the war memorial in the village and Fred's thoughts on chemical usage and modern industrial farming are eerily prescient about today's agricultural and ecological crises.

[Alec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written over 50 years ago it recalls the authors memories of village life in the 1920's. While some of this is can be seen as rose tinted recollections of happier days the author has surprisingly modern views on the preservation of the natural world expressed in the chapter 'The Balance of Nature'.

[Janet Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this gentle read. Very tiny print was a struggle though. I wish it was like this now, it made me nostalgic for the time before I was born. It's been downhill ever since. I particularly liked the chapter about the naughty horses.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad - i live near Bredon so very interested to understand more about the rural history. I'm also a big fan of the James Herriot books and whilst these focus on veterinary matters, they are not dissimilar to Archer. However, where Herriot excels is in painting a vivid picture of what he's discussing, as well as creating recurring characters that you get to know. Archer seems to tell vignettes which whilst interesting didnt grab my attention as much, and i finished the book slightly dissatisfied because i felt i wasnt getting a full immersion like one does with James Herriot. That said, i did enjoy the book and will buy more from Fred.

[Ches Torrants · Rating 4 out of 5]

This down-to-earth reminiscence takes us back to a farming village in the early twentieth century. There are two kinds of memories here: those from the author's early years, and those drawn from the older people who loved to tell their tales to "Young Fred". As their culture and way of life slide out of living memory, we need books like this to remind us where we came from.