Village Christmas

And Other Notes on the English Year

By: Laurie Lee

Narrated by: David Sibley

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the author of Cider with Rosie, Village Christmas is a moving, lyrical portrait of England through the changing years and seasons.

Laurie Lee left his childhood home in the Cotswolds when he was 19, but it remained with him throughout his life until, many years later, he returned for good. This collection brings to life the sights, sounds, landscapes and traditions of his home - from centuries-old May Day rituals to his own patch of garden, from carol singing in crunching snow to pub conversations and songs. Here, too, he writes about the mysteries of love, living in wartime Chelsea, Winston Churchill's wintry funeral and his battle, in old age, to save his beloved Slad Valley from developers.

Told with a warm sense of humour and a powerful sense of history, Village Christmas brings us a picture of a vanished world.

©2015 Laurie Lee (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Magical." (Daily Mail)

"I finished it with an ache in my heart and a tear in my eye." (Spectator)

"Simply written, observant and shot through with Lee's characteristic humility.... Against his whitewashed prose are touches of beauty." (The Times Literary Supplement)