Reminiscence
2 total works
For nearly eighty years, Mont Abbott lived and worked on the land round the parish of Enstone in Oxfordshire. Constructed from a series of taped conversations with Mont, the author has created a record of custom and change in this tightly-knit rural community. The work describes individuals who played an important part in the life of Mont and gives an indication not only of the warmth and loyalty of the community, but also of the hardship and poverty which existed at that time. Her book "Country Kate" was turned into a radio script which won The Writers Guild of GB Award for 1974.
From the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution to the late 1950s, horse-drawn narrow boats were a familiar sight on Britain's canals. Carrying a wide variety of cargoes to such destinations as the Potteries, the textile mills of Lancashire, and the papermills of Croxley, narrow boats were of vital importance to the country's economy, yet little has been recorded about the lives of the canal families - in particular the women. Drawing on extensive interviews with boatwomen born and bred on the Oxford Canal, Sheila Stewart here recalls country fairs and courtships, family tragedies, the hardships endured during the Depression, dangerous journeys to munitions factories during the World War II, and the decline of the canals after 1945. Full of poignant personal stories of astonishing courage and resilience, this compelling book captures a unique way of life during the first sixty years of this century.