Flora Thompson's semi-autobiographical Lark Rise to Candleford trilogy is known and loved the world over for its gentle depiction of rural life in Oxfordshire in the late 19th century, a way of life that was soon to vanish forever as mechanisation took over farming, and many of the villagers moved town-wards in such of a more prosperous future. The first volume describes Laura's childhood in Lark Rise, a small agricultural hamlet. It lovingly recalls the details of Flora's small world, its rituals, routines, hardships, pleasures, schooling, games, songs, fashions, local speech patterns and colourful characters, with astonishing lyricism and charm.