Tales of the Old Villagers, by Brian P. Martin, David & Charles, 187pp, £17.99 in UK
Each chapter in this book tells the story of a different person. But they all have one thing in common: in their earlier years they provided services that were the framework for a vibrant village life. They lived in different villages, but Brian P. Martin has brought them together in a rich pageant and together they re-enact the old village rituals and customs and help us to appreciate the strong, purposeful people that held village life together.
The lady in the first chapter, who opens the door into this book, is Margaret Jackson, born on July 13th, 1913, in Buckinghamshire. She went into service at the age of sixteen in the local "big house". Miss Jackson recalls: "There were new factories in our area, but on no account would Mother let me go to them as that was considered degrading. Mother had always been in good service herself; you could tell that by the way she spoke and conducted herself".
The author allows Miss Jackson, as he does all the others, to tell their own stories, which are illustrated with wonderful old photographs and drawings.
We meet a village policeman of East Sussex, Frank Perchard, who took enormous pride in his job, declaring that "Conmen never had much success in the country because every country copper knew his patch and the people in it so well, and anything out of the ordinary was soon noticed and reported".
In a chapter entitled "Mine Host", John Sibley, as the long-serving landlord of a country pub, tells his story, and in "Much to his Credit" we meet John Gwynne, a shopkeeper whose premises was voted "the best village store" in 1994 and 1995 and whose family has been in business since 1881.
One of the most remarkable people in the book is Alice Murnane, who was a dispensing doctor in a County Meath village. She grew up in South Africa with a revolver in her hand, shot a crocodile, gained three university degrees in the days when most women remained housebound, ran a farm, practised general medicine long before penicillin, stitched wounds, set broken noses, delivered babies, pulled innumerable teeth and made housecalls on horseback. At 93 she not only still enjoys a smoke and a tipple, but also remains active and interested in most aspects of modern life. But then, she does put poteen in her Christmas pudding!
No book about village life would be complete without the schoolmaster, the postmistress, the clergyman and a local farmer, and we meet them all here. Their lives were richly veined with the work ethic and good husbandry. They were a strong, self-disciplined people and their story is a book rich in country lore and traditions of the past.
Alice Taylor is the author of To School Through the Fields; her first novel, The Woman of the House, will be published next month