(1897 & 1899) 2010 new edn. Excellent Press. Ludlow, Shropshire. Paperback. Ppvi,240. B/w frontispiece photograph. Introduction by Duff Hart-Davis. Fine new copy.
Notes: This classic account of sport and country life in the mid-nineteenth century was originally published privately in two volumes, in 1897 and 1899. "The Rev. William Thornton was a hard-riding outdoorsman who began his career as a young curate on Exmoor, and later moved south to the Dartmoor parish of North Bovey. ...Thornton vividly describes the life of the old West Country as it was before the railways brought change, uniformity and urban ideas. He tells of ghosts, superstitions and witchcraft, of murder and thieving, smugglers and horse traders as well as recalling his colleagues in the Church, some notable eccentrics among them, including a fist-fighting archdeacon. With relish he recounts many adventures in the field after fox and stag, and many amazing feats of horsemanship on the road and during the chase. Famous characters of the period like Jack Russell the huntsman, John Leech the sporting artist, and the fearsome Bishop Henry of Exeter, make their unforgettable appearance."
