September Moon

by John Moore

Reminiscent of The Darling Buds of May, by H.E. Bates, this is a beautiful, romantic, and humorous story set in the hop-fields of Herefordshire at harvest time with the central characters of Tim and Marianne—he the son of a prosperous yeoman family who have grown hops at Sollarshill for centuries, she the daughter of their feckless neighbour with whom they have long been at odds.

John Moore was Gloucestershire's best-known and loved author of the 20th century—described by Sir Compton Mackenzie as the most talented writer about the countryside of his generation. He was born in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, in 1907 and died in Bristol in 1967.

During the latter part of his life, he lived in the village of Kemerton on the slopes of Bredon Hill, which he popularised as 'Brensham Hill' in a number of his writings. Most of his books had a rural setting and long before conservation came to mainstream media attention he wrote about the effect of technological advances on the countryside and rural life.

Genres: British Literature

254 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1961

About the author

Author of the Brensham Trilogy.

John Moore (1907-1967) was a British author and pioneer conservationist. He was born in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire in 1907 and died in Bristol in 1967. His most famous work was Portrait of Elmbury, published in 1945, about life in Tewkesbury in the early 20th century. This work, along with Brensham Village and The Blue Field, formed part of the 'Brensham Trilogy'. Most of his books had a rural setting and long before conservation came to mainstream media attention he wrote about the effect of technological advances on the countryside and rural life.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Sollars and Tommy Tompkins are both hop farmers, but otherwise entirely different. The Sollars farm is prosperous and efficiently run, whereas the Tompkins farm is ramshackle and badly run by the easygoing Tommy Tompkins. There is not much love lost between the two men. But as the hop picking season gets underway, their children, Marianne Tompkins and Tim Sollars, are increasingly drawn to one another. Their romance develops as the hop harvest progresses with all its ups and downs. There is a lively assortment of people who come to help with the hop picking, and most interesting are the gypsies, who bring excitement and drama to the peaceful Herefordshire countryside. This is a very enjoyable story with some wonderful characters and a fascinating look at a vanished way of life.

[Joel Birnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dull melodrama that gives some insight into the hop-picking industry as it was in the first half of the 20th Century. However, it’s unfortunately peppered throughout with the author’s blatant misogyny and racism. And yes, before you lecture me, I do know the difference between character driven racism (i.e. characters refer to ‘gipsies’ as ‘monkeys’ and ‘pests’) and the author’s (all black people are referred to as ‘niggers’ and ‘picaninnies’; fyi- there are no black characters in this tale). Avoid.

[Paddy's Muvver · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I'd had this on the bookshelf for almost 20 years, having picked it up in a Heathy Planet pop-up bookstore and saving it from landfill. I wish I'd read it sooner! It reminded me of Hardy and Larkin and is an absolutely wonderful snapshot of a bygone era. Whilst I don't agree with many of the outdated beliefs and practices of the time that are documented within it, this is a beautifully written novel and the characters and story held me captivated.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raising and harvesting hops.