Overview

First published in 1910, Mad Shepherds, subtitled and other human stories, is an extraordinary book. The author, Lawrence Pearsall Jacks, was a philosopher, educator, writer and Unitarian minister, who came to live in the Vale of Evesham in the northern Cotswolds at the end of the nineteenth century. Mad Shepherds is a lightly fictionalised account of life in the village, which Jacks calls Deadborough, and is also a highly idiosyncratic and authentic exploration of rural life and culture. The protagonist is Snarley Bob, a shepherd, whose gruff and often rude outpourings conceal a dark wit and intelligence. As Jacks writes, 'Mystic, star-gazer, dabbler in the black or blackish arts, he seemed in his lowly occupation of shepherd to represent some strange miscarriage of Nature's designs.' Full of memorable portraits of the villagers, Mad Shepherds is a compulsively readable, sometimes strange book about an England now entirely lost and largely forgotten. This new edition has an introduction by the actor and director Mackenzie Crook.

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9781915068477

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Reviews

'...a beautiful and poignant memorial.' Mackenzie Crook

Author Information

L. P. Jacks (1860-1955) was a writer, educator, philosopher and Unitarian Minister. He was a popular lecturer between the World Wars on the subjects of militarism and the need for a liberal education. He wrote over twenty books. Mackenzie Crook is an actor, director, comedian and writer, known for his roles in The Office, The Pirates of the Caribbean and Detectorists, amongst others. He appeared as Ginger in Jez Butterworth's acclaimed play Jerusalem.

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