| Richard Jefferies |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT RICHARD JEFFERIES | |
| 1848 births | |
| 1887 deaths | |
| english childrens writers | |
| english science fiction writers | |
| people from swindon | |
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He was born at Coate, near Swindon , Wiltshire , the son of a farmer. From early in life he showed a great love of the countryside, but was evidently temperamentally unsuitable to follow his father as a farmer, and in 1866 he found employment as a newspaper reporter for the ''North Wiltshire Herald''. Two of his books were written as children's books, ''Wood Magic'' (1881) and ''Bevis: the story of a Boy'' (1882), which are regarded as minor classics. His most famous work, ''After London '' (1885) is of the type that could be best described as "post-holocaust Science Fiction "; after some sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature, and the few survivors to a quasi-medieval way of life. The first chapters consist solely of a loving description of nature reclaiming England: fields becoming overrun by forest, domesticated animals running wild, roads and towns becoming overgrown, the hated London reverting to lake and poisonous swampland. The rest of the story is a straightforward adventure/quest set many years later in the wild landscape and society; but the opening chapters set an example for many later science fiction stories. He died at Goring-on-Sea, Sussex , having lived for some time in Eltham on the south-east fringes of London. After his death, a number of posthumous collections were made of his writings previously published in newspapers and magazines, beginning with ''Field and Hedgerow'' (1889), edited by his widow. New collections have appeared over the century following his birth, but even now not all have been reprinted in book form. Early works included three by Henry Salt :
Jefferies' works inspired Henry Williamson to take up writing ; Williamson edited a collection of Jefferies' writings with a title that indicates the great regard that he held for Jefferies:
PUBLISHED BOOKS BY JEFFERIES
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