Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village
| Author | Ronald Blythe |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Rural life in Suffolk |
| Genre | Oral history |
| Published | 1969 |
| Publisher | Viking |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 978-0713901009 |
Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village is a 1969 book by Ronald Blythe.[1] It is an oral-history and documentary-style portrait of rural life in Suffolk, England.
Blythe created the book from the reminiscences of local people in his home area of Suffolk, mostly recorded in 1967.[2] Akenfield, the village in the title, is fictional, but the name is taken from those of two local villages, Akenham and Charsfield.[3]
The book covers the period from the beginning of the 20th century to the late 1960s, and illustrates changes in the lives of working-class rural people over those decades. Although based on factual material, it is fictionalised and has come to be regarded as a classic; it became the book for which Blythe was best known.[4] It was the basis for the 1974 film Akenfield, directed by Peter Hall.[5]
References
- ↑ Matless, David (2023). About England. Reaktion Books. p. 72. ISBN 9781789147544.
- ↑ Tiller, Kate (2002). English Local History: An Introduction. Sutton. p. 248. ISBN 9780750927147.
- ↑ Mitchell, Laurence (2023). Suffolk. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 186. ISBN 9781804690499.
- ↑ "In praise of ... Ronald Blythe". The Guardian. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "In pictures: on location on Peter Hall's rural time-collage Akenfield". British Film Institute. Retrieved 22 June 2026.