'People were poorer and had not the comforts, amusements, or knowledge we have today; but they were happier.' Lark Rise to Candleford is Flora Thompson's classic evocation of a vanished world of agricultural customs and rural culture. The trilogy of Lark Rise, Over to Candleford, and Candleford Green tells the story of Flora's childhood and youth during the 1880s in Lark Rise, in reality Juniper Hill, the hamlet in Oxfordshire where she was born. Through the eyes of Laura, the author's fictional counterpart, Flora describes the cottages, characters, and way of life of the agricultural labourers and their families with whom she grew up; seasonal celebrations, schooling, church-going, entertainment and story-telling are described in fond and documentary detail. Later, when Laura leaves school and becomes assistant to the village postmistress, the same loving detail brings vividly to life the rural post office and its staff. This edition of the trilogy reproduces the original wood-engravings by Julie Neild and includes a new introduction by Phillip Mallet which looks at the background to the books and their enduring popularity.

Phillip Mallett is a Lecturer in English at the University of St Andrews. Phillip Mallett's primary research interests are in the field of Victorian studies: in particular, in the work of Thomas Hardy; the idea of the city; gender, sexuality and the social role of women in the period 1870-1930; and in British responses to India from the 1830s till Independence.