Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice older book in good condition. Pages in great condition. No notes or highlighting. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> Innumerable books have been written about Devon. Everyone knows of its unusual physical beauty and a little of its great history. But it has suffered from excessive and uncritical adulation from sentimental songs and much bad poetry. This history and description of the county is written by a native who is also a trained historian and has travelled widely on foot all over England. While there- fore the author’s affection for his native heath is every- where apparent his account is nevertheless critical and balanced. This is the first comprehensive history and descrip- tion of Devon to be written since 1822. Not only is it based largely on original records but it is also the out- come of many years of fieldwork in Devon and of a first- hand knowledge of every parish within its boundaries. There is nothing second hand in the whole book. The history is related throughout to what is still visible in the landscape. The reader is taken to the hut-circles on Dartmoor the grotesque old mining landscapes the sal- mon fisheries the ruined wayside chapels to places known and unknown. Everything is related to the history behind it even in such familiar places as Clovelly about which one would have thought it difficult to say anything fresh. Exeter is covered briefly but not in as much detail as other villages towns and cities. Those who are satiated with ‘guide books will find here an opportunity to look at Devon with a new com- prehension and a wider range of interest. Particular atten- tion has been paid to the unusual number of ancient farm- houses not simply as picturesque objects in a beautiful scene but as reflecting the peculiar social history of the county. The whole book fully indexed and referenced has been produced to be easy to read and easy to refer to. It includes a table of population a detailed bibliography line-maps diagrams and 48 pages of half-tone illustrations. (MP)