Country life was idealized by the Victorians into a rural idyll. 19th-century artists sought to perpetuate this image and their work found its greatest expression in images of cottages and cottage life. Drawing on the watercolours of Helen Allingham, Myles Birket Foster and Charles Wilson, and the writings of Flora Thompson and Thomas Hardy, this book describes the cottages themselves, how they were built and organized internally, and the farming and domestic traditions that determined the cottagers' lives. Harvesting, cider-making and wash day are a few of the activities described, as well as some of the more unusual customs. By contrasting the reality with the art, the book finds that these paintings convey more truth than one might expect at first glance.
- ISBN10 0297835637
- ISBN13 9780297835639
- Publish Date 11 March 1996 (first published 30 March 1993)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 14 January 2000
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Orion Publishing Co
- Imprint Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated
- Edition New edition
- Format Paperback
- Pages 160
- Language English