One day Ian Marchant, acclaimed author of books on music, railways and pubs, decided, as all men of a certain age must, to have a dig around his family history. Surprisingly quickly, a web search informed him that his seven-times-great great-grandfather, Thomas Marchant had left a detailed diary from 1714 to 1728.
So far, so jolly ... Life-loving diarist Thom - who liked a drink and a game of cards - feels recognisably Marchant to Ian. With fascinating detail we learn about Thom''s family farm and fishponds; about dung, horses and mud; about beer, the wife''s nights out, his own job troubles and their shared worries for their children.
But as Ian digs deeper beyond the Sussex diary''s bucolic portrait he discovers a subtext - a family descended from immigrants, with antiestablishment politics, who are struggling with illness, political instability and cash crises - just as their country does three centuries on.
Rich and immersive, One Fine Day draws a living portrait of Marchant family life in the 1720s and how their England (rainy, muddy, politically turbulent, illnessridden) became the England of the 2020s.
| Format |
Häftad |
| Omfång |
364 sidor |
| Språk |
Engelska |
| Förlag |
Duckworth Books |
| Utgivningsdatum |
2024-02-15 |
| ISBN |
9781914613555 |
