Heartbreak Farm: A Farmer and His Farm in Wartime

by Frances Mountford

In this new book, from the author of A Commoner's Cottage, Frances Mountford recreates in words, pen-and-ink line drawings and detailed colour paintings, the changing life of a farmer in the first half of this century - horse-ploughing, haymaking, riding to hounds, the Shire horses that were indispensable for carrying out the work, visits from itinerant labourers, and the hardships and pleasures of rural life - and then describes how a life that they had envisaged going on for ever came abruptly to an end. Fifty years on, the pain injustice of the war years is still keenly felt, and the book describes how the farmers tried to fight back.
Evocative and vivid, Heartbreak Farm describes a time now all but forgotten, but its story is one that touched thousands. Fully illustrated with paintings and line drawings, which depict agricultural and country life during the first half of the twentieth century, this book will be welcomed by anyone with a genuine interest in the history of farming and the countryside.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1997

Reviews

[Martina Lennon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting addition to my growing collection life at home during the war.