John Richard Jefferies

John Richard Jefferies (November 6, 1848 - August 14, 1887 ) was an English nature writer, essayist and journalist. He wrote fiction mainly based on farming and rural life. Richard Jefferies 1848-88, scanned from the frontispiece of a pre-1923 edition of The Amateur Poacher Malcolm Farmer 20:49, 1 Oct 2003 (UTC) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Richard Jefferies 1848-88, scanned from the frontispiece of a pre-1923 edition of The Amateur Poacher Malcolm Farmer 20:49, 1 Oct 2003 (UTC) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004...

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 temperamentally unsuited to follow his father as a farmer, and in 1866 he found employment as a newspaper reporter for the North Wiltshire Herald. His birthplace and home is a Museum open to the public. Swindon is a large town in the South West of England, near the M4 motorway. ... Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ...

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.

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. London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...

He died at Goring-on-Sea, Sussex, having lived for some time in Eltham on the south-east fringes of London. Sussex is a traditional county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Eltham, London, England Eltham, New Zealand, Taranaki, New Zealand Eltham, Victoria, Australia This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

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: Henry Stephens Salt (September 20, 1851 - April 19, 1939) was an influential English writer and campaigner for social reform in the fields of prisons, schools, economic institutions and the treatment of animals – he was a noted anti-vivisectionist and pacifist. ...

• Richard Jefferies: A Study (1894)
• Richard Jefferies: His Life and His Ideas (1905)
• The Faith of Richard Jefferies (1906)

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: Henry Williamson (December 1, 1895 - August 13, 1977), prolific English author known for his natural and social history novels. ...

• RICHARD JEFFERIES : Selections of his Work with details of his Life and Circumstances, his Death and Immortality (1947)

Published books by Jefferies

• The Scarlet Shawl (1874)
• Restless Human Hearts (1875)
• World's End (1877)
• The Gamekeeper at Home (1878)
• Wild Life in a Southern County (1879)
• The Amateur Poacher (1879)
• Greene Ferne Farm (1880)
• Round About a Great Estate (1880)
• Hodge and His Masters (1880)
• Wood Magic (1881)
• Bevis: the Story of a Boy (1882)
• Nature Near London (1883)
• The Story of My Heart: An Autobiography (1883)
• Red Deer (1884)
• The Life of the Fields (1884)
• The Dewy Morn (1884)
• The Open Air (1885)
• After London; Or, Wild England (1885)
• Amaryllis at the Fair (1887)
• Field and Hedgerow; Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies (1889--posthumous)

External links

• Richard Jefferies: his life and works
• Richard Jefferies Society
• Works by Richard Jefferies at Project Gutenberg