Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson

Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson ISBN-13: 9781567923636 Paperback: 556 pages Publisher: Nonpareil Books Released: 1945, 2010

Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Flora Thompson (1876-1947) wrote about English country life at the turn of the twentieth century. This trilogy of novels--Lark Rise (1939), Over to Candleford (1941), and Candleford Green (1943)--are published together in this omnibus version and tell what life was like in a hamlet, a village, and a town as she grew up and lived in these various places.

Through the semi-autobiographical character of young Laura, Flora Thompson chronicles how people's lives changed from living off the land and practicing the "old ways" to a more urban existence. From May Day celebrations, harvest times, traditional sons and games, to descriptions of the types of people who lived there, Thompson builds a personal and vivid portrait of a cherished place and a vanished time.


My Review:
Lark Rise to Candleford is an autobiography about a woman who grew up in a small, very poor hamlet in England from 1876 to 1892. (She refers to herself as "Laura" instead of writing as "I.") As a teenager, she often spent her summers in a nearby town where her better-off cousins lived. At age 16, she went to work in a post office at the edge of that town. She described life--education, games, holidays, etc.--at that time, but she also tells stories about things she did relating to these subjects. The book reminded me of the Laura Wilder books, but this was less a narrative about Flora's life and more a telling about how people lived with some related stories (not in any order) relating to the current topic.

It was interesting and engaging. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning more about how people lived at other places and times.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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