Hodge and His Masters

A crowded market day in Woolbury brings farmers, traders and labourers into the narrow streets around the Jason Inn. Richard Jefferies uses such scenes to examine rural England in a collection of essays first published in the Standard. His concern extends from the people working the land to tenant farmers, landowners and the businesses of nearby towns. Falling agricultural incomes, village education and the prospects of labour organisations give these local sketches a wider social purpose.

The writing also follows the physical details of country life. A young curate struggles through a muddy lane while two women watch from behind a hedge; autumn leaves, birds and brambles surround his awkward progress. Jefferies places these small encounters beside questions of money, class and changing habits. Readers interested in rural history can find both an account of economic pressures and close observations of the places where people worked, traded and met.