Richard Jefferies Popular Books
Richard Jefferies Biography & Facts
John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influence on him and provides the background to all his major works of fiction. Jefferies's corpus of writings covers a range of genres and topics, including Bevis (1882), a classic children's book, and After London (1885), a work of science fiction. For much of his adult life he suffered from tuberculosis, and his struggles with the illness and with poverty also play a role in his writing. Jefferies valued and cultivated an intensity of feeling in his experience of the world around him, a cultivation that he describes in detail in The Story of My Heart (1883). This work, an introspective depiction of his thoughts and feelings about the world, gained him the reputation of a nature mystic at the time, but it is his success in conveying his awareness of nature and people within it, both in his fiction and in essay collections such as The Amateur Poacher (1879) and Round About a Great Estate (1880), that has drawn most admirers. Walter Besant wrote of his reaction on first reading Jefferies: "Why, we must have been blind all our lives; here were the most wonderful things possible going on under our very noses, but we saw them not." Life and works Early life John Richard Jefferies (he used the first name only during his childhood) was born at Coate in the parish of Chiseldon, near Swindon, Wiltshire, the son of a farmer, James Luckett Jefferies (1816–1896). His birthplace and home is now a museum open to the public. James Jefferies had the farm from his father, John Jefferies, who had been a printer in London before returning to Swindon to run the family mill and bakery. Richard's mother, Elizabeth Gyde (1817–1895), always called Betsy, was the daughter of John Jefferies's binder and manager. These relationships are mirrored in the characters of Jefferies's late novel Amaryllis at the Fair (1887); and the portraits of the family in the novel tally with external accounts of the Jefferies. James Jefferies, like Iden in Amaryllis, was devoted to his garden, while struggling to make a financial success of the farm. The garden, lovingly recalled in Wood Magic and Amaryllis, also made a strong impression on the memories of those who knew the Jefferies at the time. Betsy, like Iden's wife, seems to have been dissatisfied with life on the farm: "a town-bred woman with a beautiful face and a pleasure-loving soul, kind and generous to a fault, but unsuited to a country life." The farm was very small, with 39 acres (160,000 m2) of pasture; and a mortgage of £1500 would later begin a slide into debt for James Jefferies, who lost the farm in 1877 and became a jobbing gardener. But these difficulties were less evident in Richard's childhood. The situation was much as in After London (1885), where the farming and gardening Baron is again based on James Jefferies: "The whole place was thus falling to decay, while at the same time it seemed to be flowing with milk and honey". One part of the Jefferies family is strikingly missing from the books. In Wood Magic, Bevis and Amaryllis, the hero (or heroine) has no siblings; only After London gives the main character brothers and depicts the imperfect sympathy between them. James and Elizabeth's first child, Ellen, had died young; but Richard had two younger brothers and a younger sister. Jefferies spent several of his earlier years, between the ages of four and nine, with his aunt and uncle, the Harrilds, in Sydenham, where he attended a private school, returning to Coate in the holidays. His uncle, Thomas Harrild, was a son of the printing innovator Robert Harrild. Jefferies kept a close friendship with Mrs. Ellen Harrild (nee Gyde) and his letters to her are an important source for biographers. At Coate, he spent most of his time in the countryside; and much of what he narrates of Bevis is true of himself. His father had taken him shooting when he was eight; and already at nine he had shot a rabbit. He was soon spending much of his time hunting (both with a gun and with snares) and fishing. He also, like Bevis, added home-made rigging to a boat to sail on the reservoir; and he is said to have built his own canoe, like the hero of After London. At the same time, he became a keen reader: favourite books included Homer's Odyssey, Percy's Reliques, Don Quixote and James Fenimore Cooper's The Pathfinder, which served as a model for mock battles fought on a field between the farm and the reservoir. In November 1864, at the age of sixteen, he and a cousin, James Cox, ran off to France, intending to walk to Russia. (Cox, slightly older than Jefferies, worked for the Great Western Railway and had a little money saved.) After crossing the channel, they soon found that their schoolboy French was insufficient and returned to England. Before they reached Swindon, they noticed an advertisement for cheap crossings from Liverpool to America and set off in this new direction. The tickets however, did not include the cost of food; and the boys were forced to return to Swindon after an attempt to pawn their watches had drawn the attention of the police. Jefferies left school at fifteen and at first continued his habits of solitary wanderings about the local countryside. He dressed carelessly and allowed his hair to grow down to his collar. This, with his "bent form and long, rapid stride made him an object of wonder in the town of Swindon. But he was perfectly unconscious of this, or indifferent to it." He helped little on the farm (his only enthusiasm was for chopping and splitting wood) and was regarded as something of an idler. The gun that he always carried drew the suspicion of local landowners – one said, "That young Jefferies is not the sort of fellow you want hanging about in your covers". Finally, early in 1866, he started work as a newspaper reporter for the North Wiltshire Herald. For several years he worked as a reporter, contributing not only to the North Wiltshire Herald, but also to the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard and to the Swindon Advertiser. The editor of the Swindon Advertiser, William Morris, an antiquarian and local historian, lent Jefferies books and encouraged his early writing attempts. Jefferies himself developed an antiquarian interest in the countryside: he published articles on local history in the North Wiltshire Herald and was the first to notice a stone circle near Coate Farm. He was also spending much time on the downs, particularly at the iron age hill fort, Liddington Castle, where he would lie on the grass, ecstatically feeling and seeking a connection with the natural world. In September 1867 and July 1868 he was very ill. In retrospect the illnesses were clearly the first symptoms of the tuberculosis that would kill him. He emerged from them weakened and very thin – "My legs a.... Discover the Richard Jefferies popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Richard Jefferies books.
Best Seller Richard Jefferies Books of 2024
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The Hills and the Vale
Richard JefferiesEssays about nature in England. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English...
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Greene Ferne Farm
Richard JefferiesFiction about nature in England. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of Englis...
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Last Letter Home
Rachel HoreFrom the millioncopy Sunday Times bestseller comes a timeless love story, lost in letters of the past . . . Secrets from the past, unravelling in the present… Uncove...
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The Love Boat
Kate LaceLove is in the air... and on the water in this fabulous new romance from Kate Lace Working as a chef on a luxurious holiday yacht, Poppy's come a long way from her parents' pub i...
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The Eulogy of Richard Jefferies
Sir Walter BesantRichard Jefferieschristened John Richard, but he was always called by his second namewas born on November 6, 1848, at the farmhouse of Coateyou may pronounce it, if you please, in ...
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The Hidden Years
Rachel Hore'A dramatic, warmhearted, wonderfully written read.' DAILY MAIL 'Gorgeous' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'A gripping read' HELLO!Sunday Times bestseller Rachel Hore’s captivating...
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Field and Hedgerow, Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies
Richard JefferiesEssays about nature in England. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English...
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The Life of the Fields
Richard JefferiesEssays about nature in England. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English...
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One Moonlit Night
Rachel HoreTHE HIDDEN YEARS, the captivating new novel from millioncopy bestselling author Rachel Hore, is out now in paperback.Loyalty and betrayal, hope and despair, One Moonlit Night tells...
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Richard Jefferies
William J. KeithThis book, a critical study of the essays and novels of Richard Jefferies, an English writer of the latter part of the nineteenth century, is an attempt to define the nature of Jef...
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The Gamekeeper at Home
Richard JefferiesFiction about nature in England. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of Englis...
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The Love Child
Rachel HoreThe UNMISSABLE novel from the millioncopy Sunday Times bestseller. Secrets from the past, unravelling in the present… Uncovering secrets that span generations, Rache...
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A Class Act
Kate LaceA passionate tale of love, luxury and falling for the first time.Tilly de Liege may be Lady of the Manor, but it's not quite as fabulous as it sounds the de Lieges may be high soc...
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The Silent Tide
Rachel HoreFrom the millioncopy Sunday Times bestseller comes a compelling and engrossing story of hidden lives and secret pastsLondon, present day: Emily Gordon has found her ...
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A Week in Paris
Rachel HoreSECRETS FROM THE PAST, UNRAVELLING IN THE PRESENT From the millioncopy Sunday Times bestseller comes a gripping and moving story spanning 25 years and World War II, ...
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The Swallow
Stephen MossFrom the bestselling author of The Robin, The Wren and The Twelve Birds of Christmas. With around 700,000 breeding pairs, the swallow is one of the most familiar birds in Britain. ...
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Field and Hedgerow - Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies
Richard JefferiesOriginally published in 1889, this is a work by the English writer Richard Jefferies. It is a collection of essays on rural English life and is a wonderful read for any fans of nat...
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Apocalypse
Mary Shelley, Jack London, Richard Jefferies, Daniel Defoe & Philip DossickApocalypse The Plague Tales By Mary Shelley Jack London Richard Jefferies Daniel Defoe Back in 1826 a novel was written, The Last Manthat tells the story of humanity’s...
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Paris and Other Disappointments
Adam RozenbachsSick of going overseas and enjoying himself, comedian Adam Rozenbachs decided he would take his father on the trip of a lifetime to Europe. For his dad, it was a chance to return t...
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The French House
Jacquie BloeseFreedom worth fighting for. Love worth waiting for.'The French House is a beautifully wrought exploration of love of all kinds. It's utterly gorgeous, convincingly written and comp...
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Wild Life in a Southern County
Richard JefferiesEssays about nature in England. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English...
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The Eulogy of Richard Jefferies
Walter BesantWith centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...
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Amaryllis at the Fair
Richard JefferiesFiction/essays about nature in England. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of...
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After London or Wild England
Richard JefferiesFiction/essays about nature in England, first published in 1885. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, n...
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Works of Richard Jefferies
Richard Jefferies19 works of Richard Jefferies English nature writer (18481887) This ebook presents a collection of 19 works of Richard Jefferies. A dynamic table of contents allows you to jump dir...
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The Trophy Girl
Kate LaceWhen Lucy Carter lands a job in a stately home she feels that all her dreams have come true. Not only is she in fabulous surroundings deep in the country but she is also working fo...
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Richard Jefferies and the Ecological Vision
Brian MorrisRichard Jefferies and the Ecological Vision provides an illuminating account of one of Britain's bestloved nature writers, the incomparable Richard Jefferies. Lucid and comprehensi...
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A Gathering Storm
Rachel HoreFrom the millioncopy Sunday Times bestseller comes a gripping story of family secrets, allconsuming love and the chaos of war.2011. When Lucy’s troubled father Tom...
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Hodge and His Masters
Richard JefferiesFiction/essays about nature in England. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of...
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The House on Bellevue Gardens
Rachel HoreThe stunning novel from the millioncopy Sunday Times bestseller. Secrets from the past, unravelling in the present… Uncovering secrets that span generations, Ra...
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Late Light
Michael MalayThis is a book about falling in love with vanishing thingsLate Light is the story of Michael Malay's own journey, an IndonesianAustralianAmerican making a home for himself in Engla...
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The Eulogy of Richard Jefferies
Besant, WalterThe Eulogy of Richard Jefferies Besant Walter, novelist and historian (18361901) This ebook presents «The Eulogy of Richard Jefferies», from Besant Walter. A dynamic table of conte...
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The Pageant of Summer
Richard JefferiesAccording to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of na...
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Bevis, The Story of a Boy
Richard JefferiesNovel first published in 1882. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English ...
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Field and Hedgerow
Richard JefferiesWith centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...
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At First Light
Vanessa LafayeMeet Alicia Cortez: survivor, healer...murderer?1993, Key West, Florida. When a Ku Klux Klan official is shot in broad daylight, all eyes turn to the person holding the gun: a 96ye...
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Moonlighting
Kate LaceBy day, Jess Dryden is a police officer. By night, she is an exotic dancer at Shoq nightclub. Holding down two jobs is not easy, but she's skint, and the money she earns dancing is...
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The Open Air
Richard JefferiesEssays about nature in England. According to Wikipedia: "John Richard Jefferies (6 November 1848 – 14 August 1887) was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English...