Rural cover art

Rural

The Lives of the Working Class Countryside

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Rural

By: Rebecca Smith
Narrated by: Rebecca Smith
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About this listen

‘Eye-opening and persuasive’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘Brilliant … I loved it’ KIT DE WAAL

‘Thoughtful, moving, honest’ CAL FLYN

Work in the countryside ties you, soul and salary, to the land. But often those who labour in nature have the least control over what happens there.

Why have our rural industries been replaced by tourism? Why can't people stay living in the places they grew up? In this beautifully observed book, Rebecca Smith traces the stories of foresters and millworkers, miners, builders, farmers and pub owners, to paint a picture of the working class lives that often go overlooked. This is a book for anyone who loves and longs for the countryside.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

© 2023 Rebecca Smith (P) 2023 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Rural Sociology Village

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All stars
Most relevant  
A lovely thought provoking book that give real insight into the rural world of the custodians of the countryside. Not your typical rose tinted rendering of idiotic life of the rural elite. But a truthful and honest statement about the history behind rural community and the way it shaped the authors life.

Lovely & thought provoking

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This brilliant personable book will take you through the people and places of rural Britain.

Thoroughly interesting, enjoyable and absorbing.

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It brought back so many memories and made them too. Well done Rebecca Smith.

Loved listening to Rural.

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A good argument to encourage land ownership and stewardship in rural areas, I enjoyed the autobiographical story.

Well observed, described and narrated

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Rebecca really captures the beauty and harshness of a country upbringing. What you gain with a relationship with nature and what it means to work living in a tied house to the job. Very insightful and thorough. Great talking points on landscape comparisons : town or country?

Wonderful insight into a rural childhood

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I found the book rather disjointed. It was more like a selection of essays, some much more engaging than others. The best were those discussing the author’s own life. The narrator (who also is the author) has a very strange jerky way of reading, splitting the sentences in odd places which makes it a difficult listen.

A disappointing read

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