ABSTRACT

Alun Howkins' panoramic survey is a social history of rural England and Wales in the twentieth century. He examines the impact of the First World War, the role of agriculture throughout the century, and the expectations of the countryside that modern urban people harbour. Howkins analyzes the role of rural England as a place for work as well as leisure, and the problems caused by these often conflicting roles.

This overview will be welcomed by anyone interested in agricultural and social history, historical geographers, and all those interested in rural affairs.

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

part |2 pages

PART I ‘Blue remembered hills’: rural society, 1900–21

part |2 pages

Part II The ‘locust years’, 1921–39

chapter 3|10 pages

The misfortunes of agriculture, 1921–37

chapter 4|22 pages

Landowners and farmers

chapter 5|18 pages

The traditionalists

Farm workers and domestic servants

chapter 6|18 pages

New countrymen and women

Workers and trippers

part |2 pages

Part III The second agricultural revolution, 1937–90

chapter 7|27 pages

War and state agriculture, 1937–45

chapter 8|19 pages

‘Tractors plus chemicals’

Agriculture and farming, 1945–90

part |2 pages

Part IV What is the countryside for? Rural society, 1945–2001

chapter 9|24 pages

A place to work and a place to play

Incomers and outgoers, 1945–90

chapter 10|20 pages

Defending the natural order?

Environment and conservation, 1945–90

chapter 11|28 pages

The countryside in crisis, 1990–2001