Richard Jefferies Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Herbert M. Vaughan

Critical Essay by Herbert M. Vaughan

SOURCE: "Richard Jefferies: Natural Historian of the English Countryside (1848-1887)," in From Anne to Victoria: Fourteen Biographical Studies Between 1702 and 1901, Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1931, pp. 156-75.

Here, Vaughan explores Jefferies's writings, contending that they provide insight not only into natural history, but also into "the human element of the countryside. '

Jefferies has had many imitators.… [He] was the founder of a new school in natural history. Even in the press of to-day one can discover echoes of Jefferies' influence in the small paragraphs of 'Nature Notes,' which most papers include in their columns. Of course these humble contributions own none of the racy charm of Jefferies' work, but they do undoubtedly perpetuate his attitude towards, and treatment of, the countryside. Of the many who have followed in the master's footsteps and have sought in his terms to treat of things and people rural, probably the best...
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