Return to Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village in the twenty-first Century

Ronald Blythe's 1969 book Akenfield—a moving portrait of English country life told in the voices of the farmers and villagers themselves—is a modern classic, a bestseller that has been translated into more than 20 languages. On the 35th anniversary of the book's publication, Craig Taylor returned to the village in Suffolk on which Akenfield was based. Over several months, he sought out locals who had appeared in the original book to learn how their lives had changed, met newcomers to discuss their views, and interviewed Ronald Blythe himself, now in his eighties. The resulting book reverberates with their voices, offering an unforgettable portrait of rural society at a time of great change.