A Month in the Country

Jul 1, 2025 4:31 AM

Author:J L Carr,Penelope Fitzgerald

'Tender and elegant' Guardian

'Unlike anything else in modern English literature' D.J. Taylor, Spectator

A damaged survivor of the First World War, Tom Birkin finds refuge in the quiet village church of Oxgodby where he is to spend the summer uncovering a huge medieval wall-painting. Immersed in the peace and beauty of the countryside and the unchanging rhythms of village life he experiences a sense of renewal and belief in the future. Now an old man, Birkin looks back on the idyllic summer of 1920, remembering a vanished place of blissful calm, untouched by change, a precious moment he has carried with him through the disappointments of the years. Adapted into a film starring Colin Firth, Natasha Richardson and Kenneth Branagh, A Month in the Country traces the slow revival of the primeval rhythms of life so cruelly disorientated by the Great War.

With an introduction by Penelope Fitzgerald

Reviews

The book I keep coming back to, it's one of the best books I've ever read. I've never met anyone who didn't love it.

—— Richard Osman

Not having enough time to read is a common complaint. But as this collection of essays by ten committed bibliophiles attempts to show, reading should be an activity as regular as brushing your teeth

—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent

Ebullient... Subtle... Inspiring and impassioned... This advocacy for intense reading is punchy and sharp

—— James Urquhart , Financial Times

A delightful collection of essays from luminaries of the book world... Some are personal, some political, but all are passionate

—— Good Housekeeping

Steve Earle writes like a shimmering neon angel

—— Kinky Friedman

Snapshots of brilliance

—— Metro

The former junkie and 'hardcore troubadour' has fought his demons and found God. Now he wants to show us how it's done

—— The Times

Earle seems to have little trouble expanding his range from a three-minute song to a 300-page narrative... And though the novel comes no closer to establishing the facts of Hank Williams's death, it certainly reveals a good deal of truth behind it

—— Alfred Hickling , Guardian

A witty, heartfelt story of hope, forgiveness and redemption

—— Booklist

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