Showing results by author "Richard Jefferies" in All Categories

After London can be seen as an early example of post-apocalyptic fiction: after some sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature, and the few survivors to a quasi-medieval way of life.

Richard Jefferies (1848 – 1887) grew up on a farm in Coate, Wiltshire, where his love for the rural landscape blossomed. After joining the ‘Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Standard’ in 1868, he began writing insightful articles and pamphlets on agricultural issues and local history. Renowned for his vivid portrayals of English rural life, Jefferies masterfully captures the essence of a gamekeeper’s existence in southern England during the latter half of the nineteenth century. This timeless classic of English nature writing offers a captivating glimpse into a world where nature and ...

Jefferies' novel can be seen as an early example of "post-apocalyptic fiction." After some sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature, and the few survivors to a quasi-medieval way of life. The first part of the book, "The Relapse into Barbarism", is the account by some later historian of the fall of civilization and its consequences, with a loving description of nature reclaiming England. The second part, "Wild England", is an adventure set many years later in the wild landscape and society.