A Country Life: At Home in the English Countryside

by Roy Strong, Julia Trevelyan Oman (Illustrator)

Sir Roy Strong and his wife, the designer Julia Trevelyan Oman, have lived in the country for nearly thirty years. In 1987 he was asked to write an occasional column reflecting this quintessentially English way of life for the prestigious magazine A Country Life . This charming book brings these popular pieces together, portraying the passing of the seasons in what the author describes as his ‘beloved adopted county’ of Herefordshire.

A Country Life is a wide-ranging kaleidoscope of memories and observations, embracing the countryside, gardens, cooking, and remembrances of things both long gone and only yesterday. The author writes lyrically of the arrival of the bright green tarragon shoots in spring; of the delights of eating al fresco; of making sorbets from blackberry and quince; of the russet beech hedges in winter and the sweet nostalgia that comes from unpacking Christmas decorations.

The keynote of A Country Life is delight – a portrait of life in the English countryside, which seems as old as time itself.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Nature, Travel, British Literature

192 pages, Hardcover

First published April 28, 1995

About the author

Sir Roy Colin Strong FRSL (23 August 1935 - ) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer.

He has been director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He was knighted in 1983.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This small book of short essays reflects the preoccupations of the author and his spouse at their house and garden in the English countryside: changes of season, gardening, the doings of the household’s cats, local history, the routine of life in the country, etc. The illustrations by Julia Trevelyan Oman won my heart, particularly her smoky cats with attitude.

“My wife’s eccentricity in planting sixty different varieties of historic apple to supply a household of only two ceased to be an indulgence when the Finnish apple-steamer made its appearance.”

“Winter months are the ones for reordering the house on days when it is impossible to work outside. A decision to reshelve a library is one taken with short-lived optimism, for the reality of seeing it through to the bitter end is quite another matter… The classification of a private library ought to reflect the structure of the owner’s mind, and that inevitably changes over the years...when there is no more room to jam anything in, little heaps start springing up.”

[Jolene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This hit my winter gardening itch with a collection of british garden essays. Some are great, some okay, and some are confusing (lost in translation between American gardening and British gardening). Most impressive to me was the long history some of the gardens in England have, to have roses bushes hundreds of years old and be able to tie those to some great nobility was very impressive. My most proudest flower is some buses from my great-grandmother pushing a hundred years. I recommend this book to flower gardeners in the cold of winter to help get through the long winter months.

[Laura Bang · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming series of vignettes about late-20th-century English country life. The writings were originally published as a magazine column and each piece is only a couple of paragraphs that present a brief snapshot of Strong's life, mainly to do with the upkeep of his formal garden, but with a few other topics as well.

[Stuart Ramsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming and amusing account of life in the countryside and the trials and tribulations of garden design and maintenance.I particularly enjoyed the lives and antics of the house cats over the years.
It reminded me greatly of the Derek and Jean Tangye ‘Minack Chronicles’ series of books set in a similar escape to the country in Cornwall.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 10th retirement read aloud.

[Alan Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of vignettes that first appeared as columns in a British weekly, Country Life,from 1989 to 1994. Except for the essay at the beginning, they are like diary entries depicting a moment or a day at the author's home, The Laskett. A plan of the house and gardens early in the book enable the reader to get his bearings.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable series of columns written mainly about the author's country house and gardens. It was nice to have a plan of the house and grounds at the front to refer to and better imagine the things he was talking about.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books about living in the country, England and gardens and this book had them all. It is a great read!

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful.