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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A gentle gem of UK oral history, 17 Sep 2001
Subtitled 'life and language in Northamptonshire', the book documents the dialect and folklore of this part of central England. It is an enchanting anthology of oral history that combines a concern for scholarship (well sourced and referenced with an introduction from a university academic) and the passion of the amateur historian.Drawn primarily from the oral recollections of people born in the last years of the 19th century and the first half (quarter?) of the 20th century, the author provides an affectionate, erudite and insightful linking commentary. The book is divided into chapters such as "People at home". "People at work" and "People at War" (especially the Boer war and WW1). The title refers to how the phrases and sayings of the past are disappearing as the English language evolves. Readers who enjoyed Flora Thompson's classic "Lark Rise to Candleford" trilogy (written about a village JUST on the Oxford side of the county boundaries) will recognise many similarities. Anyone whose parents, grandparents or other forbears come from this part of the world will gain many insights about their lives from this book (for example the courtship ritual of the "Bunny run"!). The book was published privately in 1991, issued commercially (and posthumously) in 1995. I bought it, as a Northamptonshire resident, in 1996 and have found it a delight.
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