The Open Air

About this book

A collection of essays that attempt to distill the essence of nature, and of life in the country into prose, and to impart the wonder the author feels when immersed in nature. In all the pieces collected in this book, a different aspect of the countryside or its people is brought to life.

Originally published in 1885.

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Biography

Richard Jeffries (1848-1887) gained his first writing experience composing descriptive sketches for the North Wilts Advertiser and then became a regular reporter for the North Wilts Herald. In 1873 he published The Goddards of North Wilts, a piece of family history. The money he received for this allowed him to publish his first novel, The Scarlet Shawl. Returning to newspaper writing he contributed a series of papers on rural life to influential papers, and in 1877 a collection of these from the Pall Mall Gazette were published as Gamekeeper at Home, followed in 1879 by Wild Life in a Southern County. He continued to produce popular books about rural life, but also resumed his fictional writings. From 1881 he was afflicted by a series of debilitating illnesses and during his last two years couldn't hold a pen and was required to dictate his work to his wife.