Description

Dorothy Hartley (1893-1985) is an author revered by enthusiasts for old English food and cookery and English country life. Her many books on these subjects, often illustrated with her own drawings, are collectors' items. Her greatest book, I>Food in England, has remained in print since its first appearance in 1954.

During 1933-1936, she was commissioned by the Daily Sketch newspaper to write articles describing the English countryside, old English crafts and customs, country foods and country ways (with the odd excursion to Wales, Scotland and Ireland). She did her research in the British Museum (she had by then written several books of social history) and on the ground, travelling around the country on her sturdy bicycle, staying with her subjects, or under a hedgebank if no other choice.

These articles were to form her knowledge-bank which she used in several books that came out during the 1930s and beyond (particularly Here's England, 1935), but they have never been seen as they were first written. This book offers a selection, with a foreword by the historian and television presenter, Lucy Worsley. The 65 articles are illustrated with some of Hartley's own snapshots which she kept as notes for future reference. The subjects range widely over matters as various as thatching, clog-making, eels, the country chemist, marram grass, sand shoes, crabs, sheep shearing, spring-cleaning, country kitchens, ploughing, weather lore, and elevenses. Dorothy Harley was the subject of a BBC4 documentary in November 2012.