a place where children know the name of every bird, flower and tree; men work the fields; women gossip over the fence; and the last relics of country customs have yet to die out. Whether it is describing ancient traditions such as the Mayday garland procession, bringing the harvest home and singing ballads in the local inn, or introducing characters such as Laura’s radical father, the pioneering Mrs Spicer, the eccentric bee-keeping Queenie and ladies who wear bustles to feed the pigs, this first part of Flora Thompson’s autobiographical Lark Rise to Candleford trilogy captures a vanished corner of rural England and the timeless joys of childhood.