Farmer's Glory

by A.G. Street

A.G. Street wrote this remarkable farming autobiography in 1932 after struggling through Britain's worst agricultural depression. An instant bestseller, this affectionate recollection of pre-war farming practices and traditions soon established itself as a modern classic.

Genres: Agriculture, History, British Literature

298 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Arthur George Street who wrote under the name of A.G. Street, was an English farmer, writer and broadcaster. His books were published by the literary publishing house of Faber and Faber. His best-known book was Farmer's Glory, describing his time in Canada and how he returned to Wiltshire.

The son of a Wiltshire tenant farmer, Street was born at Ditchampton Farm, Wilton, Wiltshire, near Salisbury, where he eventually took over the tenancy. He was educated at Dauntsey's School, where agriculture was part of the curriculum, and left school in 1907 at the age of sixteen. He then spent some years learning farming from his father.

Reviews

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a little surprise hidden in this memoir. Although it starts off telling the story of a young man who is working on his father's farm in England, which was interesting in itself ( he describes the farm labourers and their weather/farming wisdom, and how his father managed all the labourers - he was a rather successful farmer), the young man is tired of being what he considers another hired hand, has an argument with his father, and takes off to work on a farm in Canada. Which cracked me up immensely. I thought he was going to get a very sorry comeuppance. After all, he moved to Manitoba. I mean, bald prairie, 40° below Winters and mosquito infested summers? But, of all the crazy surprises, he loved it. His description of the life is full of fun and good humour - along with nonstop hard work. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the differences between British and Canadian farming. The main difference? Manpower. On English farms there were no end of farmhands to do the various tasks, in Canada, there was no one but you.

Anyhow, he does end up back in England, but not because he wanted to.

Full of interest, this memoir, and one I will remember.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Farmer's Glory A. G. Street paints a warm and vivid picture of life on a Wiltshire farm in the years before, during and after the First World War. First published in 1932, this is far from an exercise in rural nostalgia. Street was a tenant farmer's son and, after his father's death, a farmer himself and he knows his stuff. A three year interlude in western Manitoba working on a new farm, freshly carved from the virgin prairie and the impact of the war on food production back in the U.K. provide much to think about and Street is not afraid to put his head above the parapet in making radical suggestions for the future of British farming. The glory days have gone, he suggests, and they won't return, but they are to be mourned nevertheless. Farmer's Glory isn't a dull tract though, it's also a celebration and richly evocative description of a world, that even in 1931, was fast disappearing.
Little Toller are to be commended for bringing this lost book back into print in a beautiful edition with an excellent introduction by James Rebanks and with the original wood engraving illustrations by Gwen Raverat.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cried on the train reading this haha -- only took me an entire year to read.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

An account of farming in England and Canada during the first half of the last century. While it would be of special interest to those with an agricultural background, I think it would also appeal to anyone who enjoys reading about other people's lives. Street started off working on his father's farm in Wiltshire, then leaves for Canada at 19 and farms there for two years. While the life there was much harder, he obviously really loved the life and would have liked to have stayed, but had to return to Britain due to the First World War. Following his father's death, he continues to run the family farm, and describes the changes that took place in British farming during the post-war years.

I found the earlier half of the book much more engaging than the second, which has a tendency to be repetitive about the difficulties which beset farming in the inter-war years. I've read many accounts of farming during the same period, and while good, this doesn't really stand out from the rest, so I am puzzled to know how this book has achieved 'classic' status among the rural/farming memoirs. Well worth reading, just not quite as good as I was expecting from its reputation!

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm possibly a bit of a nerd, but I really enjoyed this - it had all sorts of details (if you've ever wondered about the perfect crop rotation, this is your book) that you'd usually really struggle to find (how much should I pay my agricultural labourers once I've given them their house?) There were also some real moments of "Oh, that makes sense, but I would never have thought of it" (why should you always wear gloves if farming in Canada?). The second half, in particular, contains some information/thoughts that are still relevant to agricultural policy, and how we view farming, and it was really interesting to "see" how Britain's landscape changed so much from 1900 to now, and why those changes occurred.

[Lorna Sixsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming. A fascinating autobiography, I particularly enjoyed the analysis in the changes in farming practices.

[Sue Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse of farming practices before WW1 in England and Canada compared with after the war.