J. L. Carr's beautiful portrayal of the countryside and the healing it brings, in an irresistible Little Clothbound Classics edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith
'One of the best books I've ever read' Richard Osman
'Unlike anything else in modern English literature' D.J. Taylor, Spectator
A damaged survivor of the First World War, Tom Birkin finds refuge in the quiet village church of Oxgodby where he is to spend the summer uncovering a huge medieval wall-painting. Immersed in the peace and beauty of the countryside and the unchanging rhythms of village life he experiences a sense of renewal and belief in the future. Now an old man, Birkin looks back on the idyllic summer of 1920, remembering a vanished place of blissful calm, untouched by change, a precious moment he has carried with him through the disappointments of the years.
Adapted into a film starring Colin Firth, Natasha Richardson and Kenneth Branagh, A Month in the Country traces the slow revival of the primeval rhythms of life so cruelly disorientated by the Great War.
Our bookseller says:
"Small but perfectly formed, this gentle yet arch exploration of the the consequences of war is a book that everyone should read. Not for 'worthiness' but for the sheer loveliness of it. A summer novel to read on a drowsy warm day, in a deckchair in the dappled shade of an orchard if you can possibly manage it!"