The Life of the Fields

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Richard Jefferies (1848-1887) was a nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood growing up on a rural farm in England had a great influence on his fiction writings. Jefferies spent most of his life battling T B and poverty. Jeffries was fascinated with what nature could be if left alone. His love for the English rural areas is strong in his writing. The Life of the Fields begins, Green rushes, long and thick, standing up above the edge of the ditch, told the hour of the year as distinctly as the shadow on the dial the hour of the day. Green and thick and sappy to the touch, they felt like summer, soft and elastic, as if full of life, mere rushes though they were. On the fingers they left a green scent; rushes have a separate scent of green, so, too, have ferns, very different to that of grass or leaves. Rising from brown sheaths, the tall stems enlarged a little in the middle, like classical columns, and heavy with their sap and freshness, leaned against the hawthorn sprays. From the earth they had drawn its moisture, and made the ditch dry; some of the sweetness of the air had entered into their fibres, and the rushes–the common rushes–were full of beautiful summer.