'One of the best books I've ever read' Richard Osman
'Tender and elegant' Guardian
'Unlike anything else in modern English literature' D.J. Taylor, Spectator

A damaged survivor of the First World War, Tom Birkin finds refuge in the quiet village church of Oxgodby where he is to spend the summer uncovering a huge medieval wall-painting. Immersed in the peace and beauty of the countryside and the unchanging rhythms of village life he experiences a sense of renewal and belief in the future. Now an old man, Birkin looks back on the idyllic summer of 1920, remembering a vanished place of blissful calm, untouched by change, a precious moment he has carried with him through the disappointments of the years. Adapted into a film starring Colin Firth, Natasha Richardson and Kenneth Branagh, A Month in the Country traces the slow revival of the primeval rhythms of life so cruelly disorientated by the Great War.

With an introduction by Penelope Fitzgerald

A sensitive portrayal of the healing process that took place in the aftermath of the First World War, J.L. Carr's A Month in the Country includes an introduction by Penelope Fitzgerald, author of Offshore, in Penguin Modern Classics.

About the Author
James Lloyd Carr, born 1912, attended the village school at Carlton Miniott in the North Riding and Castleford Secondary School. He died in Northamptonshire in 1994. His novel A Month in the Country won the Guardian Fiction Prize, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and made into a memorable film.

Reviews
The book I keep coming back to, it's one of the best books I've ever read. I've never met anyone who didn't love it. -- Richard Osman
Tender and elegant * Guardian *
Unlike anything else in modern English Literature -- D.J. Taylor * Spectator *
Carr's blessedly small tale of lost love is also a small hymn about art and the compensating joy of the artist, both in giving and receiving. It stays with us, too, and is oddly haunting * New Yorker *
Carr has the magic touch to re-enter the imagined past -- Penelope Fitzgerald


Awards
Winner of Guardian Fiction Prize 1980.



Book Information
ISBN 9780141182308
Author J L Carr
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 100g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 7mm