The Memory Be Green: An Oral History of a Devon Village

by Liz Shakespeare

Within living memory village life has changed beyond recognition. Yet the old ways have not disappeared completely for they survive in the memories of our older neighbours. In this book men and women born early in the twentieth century recall a vanished way of life: a time when large families kept a pig to supplement a simple diet; every drop of water was carried from the village pump; the whole village turned out to help with the hay harvest; when everyone knew, and was often related to, everyone else and life was as slow and steady as the horse which pulled the plough.

110 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

Liz Shakespeare was born in Devon and returned there after spending seven years in London, where she obtained an honours degree in English and trained as a teacher. Her mother's family are from Devon and the family stories she grew up with and the sense of being deeply rooted in the area have, she feels, influenced her writing.
She draws her inspiration from the North Devon countryside, from the strong historical identity of the area and the sense of past lives that can be experienced in any long-inhabited area. She is interested in social history and particularly in the lives of the less advantaged.