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Product Description
Product Description
A classic picture of the rural past in a remote Suffolk village, revealed in the conversations of old people who recall harvest customs, home crafts, poetic usages in dialect, old farm tools, smugglers' tales, and rural customs and beliefs going back to the time of Chaucer.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
Born in the mining town of Abercynon, South Wales, George Ewart Evans (1909-88) was a pioneering oral historian. In 1948 he settled with his family in Blaxhall, Suffolk, and through conversing with his neighbours he developed an interest in their dialect and the aspects of rural life which they described. Many were agricultural labourers, born before the turn of the century, who had worked on farms before the arrival of mechanisation. With the assistance of a tape recorder he collected oral evidence of the dialect, rural customs, traditions and folklore throughout East Anglia, and this work, reinforced by documental research, provided the background for his renowned East Anglian books.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I think it probably helps that I grew up in the same region as the subjects of this book, but I believe it has a general appeal. Like all oral historians, Evans seeks to learn what the reality of life was like 60-70 (or more) years ago by speaking to the old people about their memories. The coastal areas of Suffolk are geographically fairly remote, and more to the point have always been off the beaten track. Consequently, the lifestyle and conditions at the time the book was written probably reflected what life was like elsewhere in the country a good while earlier. A highly recommended book.
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
For anyone who likes oral history and the English countryside, this new edition of ASK THE FELLOWS WHO CUT THE HAY is one of those very rare things: it is just about as perfect as it's possible for a book to be.
From the blurb inside the jacket:
'This classic work remains vigorous and true, an illuminating and unvarnished portrait of village life with all its harsh poverty and struggle as well as its rich knowledge and culture. As the Times Educational Supplement wrote, George Ewart Evans "gives the wholeness of the old life and the passionate pursuit of perfection that could make a craft like drawing a a straight furrow into something near an art".'
Originally published in 1956, ASK THE FELLOWS WHO CUT THE HAY is a beautifully-crafted ramble through a vanished age: blacksmiths, dairymaids, waggoners, pig-keepers and shepherds dwell side-by-side with candlemakers, ploughmen, bellringers, the parson and the squire, and the whole account centres on the life and memories of a small Suffolk village in the century prior to the Second World War. The traditions, superstitions, games and pastimes of the villagers are set against a backdrop of unending hard labour through the shifting seasons down the centuries.
The unsentimental writing is masterful, eminently readable, and now it is a joy to see this book issued in an edition that celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the author's birth. This is not nostalgia - this is social history at its best: from the mouths of those who lived it. All human life is here, and here is something for everyone.
The icing on the cake is the fact that the publishers (Full Circle Editions - a small press with enormous integrity) have commissioned the author's son-in-law David Gentleman to provide a wealth of watercolour illustrations to complement the text. These are nothing less than exquisite.
Gentleman, at the age of 80, needs little or no introduction: his books on London and Britain are justly famous, and anyone familiar with Charing Cross Underground Station will know his lovely murals of mediaeval builders at work; his covers for the New Penguin Shakespeare in the 1970s breathed an inspiring life and vigour into the plays that was often sadly lacking in the classroom - and more recently his anti-Blair and anti-Iraq war posters hit home powerfully in their blood-spattered economy of style. David Gentleman is an institution to be proud of, and Full Circle Editions can be very proud of his contributions to his father-in-law's classic.
This publication, so reasonable in price, is a joy from beginning to end. Snap it up while it's still around.
From the blurb inside the jacket:
'This classic work remains vigorous and true, an illuminating and unvarnished portrait of village life with all its harsh poverty and struggle as well as its rich knowledge and culture. As the Times Educational Supplement wrote, George Ewart Evans "gives the wholeness of the old life and the passionate pursuit of perfection that could make a craft like drawing a a straight furrow into something near an art".'
Originally published in 1956, ASK THE FELLOWS WHO CUT THE HAY is a beautifully-crafted ramble through a vanished age: blacksmiths, dairymaids, waggoners, pig-keepers and shepherds dwell side-by-side with candlemakers, ploughmen, bellringers, the parson and the squire, and the whole account centres on the life and memories of a small Suffolk village in the century prior to the Second World War. The traditions, superstitions, games and pastimes of the villagers are set against a backdrop of unending hard labour through the shifting seasons down the centuries.
The unsentimental writing is masterful, eminently readable, and now it is a joy to see this book issued in an edition that celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the author's birth. This is not nostalgia - this is social history at its best: from the mouths of those who lived it. All human life is here, and here is something for everyone.
The icing on the cake is the fact that the publishers (Full Circle Editions - a small press with enormous integrity) have commissioned the author's son-in-law David Gentleman to provide a wealth of watercolour illustrations to complement the text. These are nothing less than exquisite.
Gentleman, at the age of 80, needs little or no introduction: his books on London and Britain are justly famous, and anyone familiar with Charing Cross Underground Station will know his lovely murals of mediaeval builders at work; his covers for the New Penguin Shakespeare in the 1970s breathed an inspiring life and vigour into the plays that was often sadly lacking in the classroom - and more recently his anti-Blair and anti-Iraq war posters hit home powerfully in their blood-spattered economy of style. David Gentleman is an institution to be proud of, and Full Circle Editions can be very proud of his contributions to his father-in-law's classic.
This publication, so reasonable in price, is a joy from beginning to end. Snap it up while it's still around.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a collection of the memories of real people who worked as haymakers or shepherds before the days of agricultural mechanisation. They're not romantic about it but they don't complain either. They just tell it the way it was. A unique insight into a former way of life.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant for family historians and anyone into self-sufficiency!
My husband read this book at the Ipswich record office and asked for a copy of it because he liked its practical/self-sufficiency information. Read more
Published 3 months ago by bretbrit
as good as akenfield
i only read a very old paperback with few illustrations, grew up in the south wales suburbs in the nineties but found so much to like in this book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by ow
Lovely book
This book was bought as a present for my grandmother who grew up in the area written about.
She loves it, and it is beautifully decorated throughout with prints from the local... Read more
She loves it, and it is beautifully decorated throughout with prints from the local... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. Peter D. Jeffery
A beautifully produced new edition of a classic work of oral history
Back in 1177, a clerk in the Exchequer, faced with a difficult question, replied: "Ruricolae melius hoc norunt", which translates as "Let us ask the country folk". Read more
Published 8 months ago by Country Publications
An interesting story
Perhaps this book was hyped up too much to me; a friend kept urging me to read it, so I finally got a copy. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Peasant
Fair condition
The book arrived late because of the pre-Christmas snow/postal service problems but it would be unfair to judge in these exceptional circumstances.
Published 16 months ago by GWarden
evans/gentleman book
this is a really beautiful new version of an old classic. the layout, photos, map, and excellent illustrations make it a pleasure to look at as well as read.
Published 20 months ago by canisp
life in the countryside in the past
Excellent, a fascinating view of life in the countryside in the past and some nice new illustrations.Well produced and well priced.
Published 21 months ago by Mr. D. J. Allen
Nostalgia
For those of us 'over a certain age' , this book is a must. It conjures up a bygone age when life. although hard, was good and uncomplicated. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Mrs. Bridget Hole
Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay
I first heard about this author on Radio 4 and out of interest bought this book.
If you were born and raised or now live in East Anglia this is an intriguing book. Read more
If you were born and raised or now live in East Anglia this is an intriguing book. Read more
Published on 14 May 2010 by whisty
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