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In this book, first published in 1914, Mary Sturge Gretton is writing about the history of the Cotswolds in the 19th century, selecting occurrences from here and there in this quintessentially English countryside. This stretch of land, roughly 25 miles across and 90 miles long and straddling several English counties, is graced by age-long, accepted traditions which have worked well in a framework of local folk, local materials, and local individuality. Mary Sturge Gretton's work brings this characteristic unity, the architectural and intimate as well as the domestic and austere nature to life and paints a picture of the conditions - the dress, the manners, the look of the houses and the streets - of a time long gone yet cherished. Her approach is not always one of educational significance but of relating incidents big and small and putting them into a historical perspective across the Cotswolds and beyond. This antiquarian book is a high-quality reprint, yet true to the original work.
