Borderland: Continuity and Change in the Countryside

by Ronald Blythe

An illustrated collection of the author's regular weekly column on the back page of the "Church Times", where, with a poet's eye, he observes the comings and goings of the rural world he sees from his ancient farmhouse in Constable country.

Genres: Essays, Nature

416 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Ronald Blythe CBE was one of the UK's greatest living writers. His work, which won countless awards, includes Akenfield (a Penguin 20th-Century Classic and a feature film), Private Words, Field Work, Outsiders: A Book of Garden Friends and numerous other titles. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded their prestigious Benson Medal in 2006. In 2017, he was appointed CBE for services to literature

Reviews

[Robert Newell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an amalgamation of Ronald Blythe's dairy and Word from Wormingford in a form of short stories set over the months in a year. Overall it is a good read with some good stories especially about the Stour Valley in the past. I've also learnt a bit about the painters John Constable & John Nash (who lived at Bottengoms). The book goes through the yearly aspect of the Christian calendar in the Stour valley and beyond which in itself is interesting and full of moral meanings which Blythe discusses.

However the real problem is the book does not flow and some of the stories can be confusing if you don't know the subject matter. It is also a long book for one that full of short material. I spent a lot of time looking up items in the book to understand his writings, which I suppose is no bad thing as I have leant a lot!

[Fazackerly Toast · Rating 3 out of 5]

massive comfort read