Agricultural History Review, Volume 64 Part 2 (2016), p. 266

Richard Jefferies is best known for his prolific work about natural history, rural life and agriculture. His lyrical style was informed by his experiences on the land and the close affinity he developed with the rural communities he lived and worked in earned him an outstanding reputation. He also demonstrated expertise in journalism, contributing to some of the leading newspapers and journals of the late nineteenth century. Born in north Wiltshire on 6 November 1848, his formative years were shaped by his rural encounters, whether with people and places or flora and fauna. Moreover, generations of his family had been farmers whose livelihoods revolved around the land. This undoubtedly influenced his writing. The gamekeeper at home was inspired by his memories and encounters with a local gamekeeper he had befriended, and was based on 24 articles originally published for the Pall Mall Gazette. Hodge and his masters – again collected from articles – depicts a rapidly changing rural world and combines his affection for traditional practices and customs with an acknowledgement that the new could in fact often harmoniously coexist with the old.

Having begun his journalism career at the age of 18, Jefferies’ work gained prominence in the 1870s after three of his long letters on the condition of the Wiltshire labourer were published in The Times. This book focuses on Jefferies’ later contributions to agricultural journalism – the articles he wrote for The Live Stock Journal and Fancier’s Gazette in the late 1870s. This publication was established in 1874 and reflected the increasing importance of livestock in English farming in the 1870s. It was at the forefront of an agricultural press that was now catering for specific sectors of farming and explicitly targeted breeders and stockowners. Jefferies’ articles were about the agricultural economy and farming – chiefly livestock – and were a synthesis of both his observations and experiences and his knowledge and expertise in the field.

Published by the Richard Jefferies Society, this new book is valuable in bringing to the fore some of Jefferies’ lesser-known writings. Its existence is all the more impressive when its origins are considered. Samuel J. Looker, undertaking research on Jefferies in the 1940s, found reference to the Live Stock Journal in his field notes and sought out the collection in the British Library. Numerous articles bore the style of Jefferies but none were signed. Eventually receipts came to light that substantiated that these articles were indeed the work of Jefferies. Whilst Looker republished some of these articles, this book brings together all the articles from the Live Stock Journal identified to be the work of Jefferies and combines them with new introductory material from economic historian Eric Jones.

The edition begins with a biographical note about Jefferies that charts his career. The foreword then explains the role of Looker and the Society in identifying and publishing these letters. An excellent introductory essay by Jones expands upon the biographical information to provide the context to understanding the significance of the excerpts from the Live Stock Journal. Jones’s commentary is critical, examining and questioning the approach taken by Jefferies in order that the reader not only fully recognizes the importance of the works reprinted here but also the influences behind their existence. Jones encourages the reader to view the articles both as descriptions of agriculture on the cusp of change and as providing an insight into agricultural thought of the time. As Jones concludes, ‘The book’s insights into a genuinely crucial turning-point in rural affairs, presented in Jefferies’ inimitable style, make it a significant source for agricultural historians’ (p. xxiv).

This contribution to the study of rural and agricultural history is evident in the articles themselves that follow Jones’s introduction and are reproduced in chronological order. They appear almost as they would have in the Live Stock Journal, although it is noted that obvious typographical errors have been corrected and some punctuation added. Each entry notes bibliographical data along with information about how it became assigned to Jefferies. Collectively they offer a window onto a short but crucial period in English agriculture between 1877 and 1878, a period when the agricultural sector was on the tipping point between a golden age and a great depression. Recurring themes addressed imports and competition from abroad, especially American meat; employment issues; the distance between centres of supply and consumption; livestock breeds and the use of shorthorns on arable land; pasture and stock; milk and dairy; the weather; hunting and game; and trespassing. Jefferies’ journalistic style was direct and challenged his readers to question their own practices and to innovate.

This book thus provides important insights into aspects of the ‘farmer’s world’ and the agricultural journalism of Richard Jefferies. It is a significant reference text that allows the reader to consult the work of Jefferies on a number of notable topics as well as consider the contribution of agricultural journalism in a changing world where farmers faced new challenges. As such the book should appeal to students, researchers and academics along with those with a general interest in farming in the second half of the nineteenth century.