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BOOKS BY HENRY WILLIAMSON published by the Society For many years the Society has been publishing collections of Henry Williamson's newspaper and magazine articles. These, and other publications, are listed below, in the order of their publication, with the most recent first. Click on the thumbnails of the covers to bring up larger and more detailed images. Unless otherwise stated, all books are by Henry Williamson.
Almost all are available for purchase – please visit our Online Bookshop, where we also list other books and material distributed by the Society.
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| A CLEAR WATER STREAM Introduction by John Bailey, coloured frontispiece and other illustrations by Mick Loates, pp. xiv, 218, hardback, 2008; £13.99 ISBN: 978-1-873507-30-8 The text to this new edition has been completely reset, and the opportunity has been taken to incorporate a few amendments made by HW which were omitted from the 1975 edition. This may, therefore, be said to be the definitive text. A Clear Water Stream was first published in 1958, although it is set in the first half of the 1930s, when HW, Loetitia and their young family lived at Shallowford. With the cottage came a two-mile stretch of fishing on the River Bray, which runs through the deer park close by, and the book tells the story of HW’s relationship with the river, its fish and its wildlife. This classic of country writing has long been out of print. Buy this book |  | RECREATING A LOST WORLD: Henry Williamson and Folkestone 1919-20: Fact into Fiction, by Anne Williamson Illustrated, pp. 28, stapled booklet, 2008; £2.50 ISBN: 978-1-873507-29-2 This booklet explores ‘the real-life scenario of Folkestone and its inhabitants of that time’, and shows through quotations from HW's books, how HW translated them – and his own experiences – into his novels: in particular The Dream of Fair Women. It contains 14 illustrations and photographs from the Literary Archive, including a colour reproduction of the extremely scarce front jacket of the first edition of The Dream of Fair Women (1924). Anne Williamson has put together a fascinating and informative story. Buy this book |  | ATLANTIC TALES: Contributions to The Atlantic Monthly 1927-1947 Introduction by Richard Williamson, afterword by Anne Williamson, coloured frontispiece by Mick Loates and 21 illustrations by C.F. Tunnicliffe, pp. xi, 240, hardback, 2007; £13.99 ISBN: 978-1-873507-26-1 An anthology of the very best of HW’s writing, with examples of his nature sketches, short stories (including ‘A Crown of Life’, perhaps his best), and tales of his later experiences when farming in North Norfolk during the late 1930s and the early years of the Second World War. Central to the collection is ‘Salar the Salmon’, a condensed version of HW's bestselling novel which successfully preserves – in the Atlantic’s phrase – the ‘pulse and vitality’ of the original. Buy this book | 
| STUMBERLEAP AND OTHER DEVON WRITINGS: Contributions to the Daily Express 1915-1935 Introduction by John Gregory, 40 illus., pp. x, 170, paperback, 2005; £9.50 ISBN: 978-1-873507-24-7 Beginning with the entire text of the Express’s article on the famous 1914 Christmas Truce, which featured HW’s letter to his parents describing the event, there follows some of his earliest published writings, from 1921 onwards, with nature essays and sketches of village life in Georgeham. The book also includes some of his finest writing on the Great War, with the two series ‘And This Was Ypres’ and ‘The Last 100 Days’, together with the moving ‘I Believe in the Men Who Died’. It finishes with some of HW’s classic short stories: ‘Stumberleap’ (which the Express called ‘The Finest Animal Story Ever Written’), ‘Whatever Has Happened?’, and ‘The Heller’. While much (though not all) of this material was later used by HW in his books, they have all long been out of print, and Stumberleap is an anthology which everyone will enjoy. Buy this book |  | CHRONICLES OF A NORFOLK FARMER: Contributions to the Daily Express 1937-1939 Introduction by John Gregory, ix, 166pp, 30 illus., paperback, 2004. Awaiting reprint.
ISBN: 978-1-873507-22-3 Covering his last months at Shallowford in Devon, the move to north Norfolk, the difficulties first encountered by a total beginner to farming, the disastrous crash in the price of barley in 1938, and the opening months of the Second World War, these 45 articles by HW form a fascinating contemporary record of those times. Ten million Express readers enjoyed them then – now you can join them. Also included are four of HW's classic short stories set in Devon. | 
| HEART OF ENGLAND: Contributions to the Evening Standard 1939-1941 Introduction by John Gregory, 10 illus., pp. vii, 105, paperback, 2003, reprinted 2008; £7.50 ISBN: 978-1-873507-20-9 Written by HW originally as a way of paying off unexpectedly high bills during his early years of farming in Norfolk – ‘There was one thing for it: to pay off the debts by writing’ – these beautifully written articles, set in both Norfolk and Devon, are counterpointed and given immediacy by the inclusion of the evening’s headlines after each article, depicting the deteriorating international situation, and the outbreak and early days of the war. Buy this book | 
| INDIAN SUMMER NOTEBOOK: A Writer’s Miscellany Cover illustration by Mick Loates, pp. 94, paperback, 2001; £5.00 ISBN: 978-1-873507-19-3 A selection of work from a number of sources, including book introductions, contributions to anthologies and magazines; a series of articles in the Evening Standard from which the collection takes its title; and a significant essay. If there is a theme, it is one of people, places and events which had a far-reaching effect on HW's life – his schooldays, the Christmas truce on the Western Front in 1914, Richard Jefferies, Francis Thompson, his Norfolk farm and North Devon. The book is dedicated to Fr Brocard Sewell, who died on April 2, 2000 and was a champion of Henry's writing. As a tribute to Fr Sewell, his article 'Henry Williamson: Old Soldier, first printed in John O'Londons' Weekly in 1961, has been included. Buy this book |  | HENRY WILLIAMSON: A Brief Look at his Life and Writings in North Devon in the 1920s and ’30s Introduction by Anne Williamson, illus., pp. 52, stapled paperback, 2001; £3.00 ISBN: 978-1-873507-17-9 This booklet arose out of a need for a short anthology of HW’s writings on North Devon to introduce his work to a wider public, and to persuade them to seek out his books and read further. The selections have been made and edited, with additional comments, by Tony Evans, an authority on HW's life and work. Illustrated with photographs from the HW Archive, this best-selling book has been reprinted several times. Buy this book |  | WORDS ON THE WEST WIND: Selected Essays from The Adelphi, 1924-1950 Postscripts by Anne and Richard Williamson, pp. 104, paperback, 2000; £5.00 ISBN: 978-1-873507-16-2 Original copies of The Adelphi are now very scarce, and, when found, are fragile. This present selection, though not exhaustive, contains both gems and important essays that deserve resurrection; most (though not all) are by HW. Included are the five editorials by HW from the short period that he edited the magazine, and from which this book takes its title. Also included are items by James Farrar, and the distinguished poet Charles Causley. Anne Williamson contributes on the background, while Richard Williamson waxes lyrical on ‘That Damned Motorcar’ (HW's temperamental Aston Martin). Published in the same format and style as the original Adelphi, Words on the West Wind might almost be thought of as a special, and final, issue. Buy this book | 
| THE NOTEBOOK OF A NATURE-LOVER Foreword by Loetitia Williamson, illus. by Mick Loates, pp. 117, paperback, 1996; £5.00 ISBN: 978-1-873507-10-0 Recalling the Devon of sixty years ago, this is an enchanting anthology of articles originally written for the Sunday Referee while HW lived at Shallowford. Early essays in the series were collected in The Linhay on the Downs (1934), to which this now forms a perfect companion volume. Buy this book | 
| GREEN FIELDS AND PAVEMENTS: A Norfolk Farmer in Wartime Introduction by Bill Williamson, illustrated by Mick Loates, pp. 174, hardback, 1995; £11.50 ISBN: 978-1-873507-07-0 Published by the Society to mark HW’s centenary, this collection of the contributions that HW wrote for the Eastern Daily Press between 1941 and 1944 makes irresistible reading. It presents a picture of life on the home front during the darker days of the war: of the countryside and its wildlife; the problems of a small farmer; and literature and art with reviews of contemporary books. ‘This is a bedside book of high quality; delightfully written and well illustrated, full of fascinating detail and description. I recommend it warmly.’ – Country Life. Buy this book |  | THRENOS FOR T. E. LAWRENCE and Other Writings Introduction by Dr Wheatley Blench, illustrated, pp. 134, paperback, 1994; £5.00 ISBN: 978-1-873507-05-6 The title essay was written in 1954, and published to pre-empt Richard Aldington’s controversial book on Lawrence. Two other important essays follow: ‘Some Nature Writers and Civilization’ (on Richard Jefferies and W.H. Hudson) which was the Wedmore Lecture given by HW to the Royal Society of Literature, and ‘In Darkest England’, the Presidential Address given to the Francis Thompson Society, telling of his discovery of Thompson’s poetry in the crater-zones of Flanders in the Great War. In addition there is a collection of scarce Prefaces and Introductions, and to conclude, the text of the letter written by T. E. Lawrence giving a detailed (and entertaining criticism) of Tarka the Otter. Buy this book | 
| PEN AND PLOUGH: Further Broadcasts Introduction by John Gregory, illustrated, pp. 105, paperback, 1993; £5.00 ISBN: 978-1-873507-03-2 Transcripts of a further 21 talks on the countryside and farming, and books and writers, this companion volume to Spring Days in Devon completes all HW’s surviving BBC radio scripts. The talks read as freshly as any of his books, and both titles are strongly recommended. Buy this book | 
| SPRING DAYS IN DEVON and Other Broadcasts Foreword by Valerie Belsey, illustrated, pp. 124, paperback, 1992; £5.00 ISBN: 978-1-873507-01-8 Twenty-two talks, broadcast on the wireless between December 1935 (HW’s very first broadcast) and 1954. Subjects include reminiscences of the West Country; the significance in his life of the barn owl; four talks on the lives of English animals (otter, badger, stoat and red deer – the last memorably given from the studio as if it was a live outside broadcast); and the difficulties encountered on becoming a farmer in Norfolk. Buy this book | 
| A BREATH OF COUNTRY AIR, Part One Foreword by Richard Williamson, illustrated, pp. 101, paperback, 1990; £5.00 ISBN: 978-0-9508652-8-7 Buy this book A BREATH OF COUNTRY AIR, Part Two Foreword by Robert Williamson, illustrated, pp. 127, paperback, 1991; £5.00 ISBN: 978-1-873507-00-1 Buy this book These two books bring together for the first time HW’s weekly pieces in the Evening Standard, written between 1944 and 1946. Part Two also includes a 15-part serial, 'Quest', unpublished since 1946, which forms a postscript to the Norfolk farm. The articles are concerned with everyday happenings on the farm, his young children (especially Robbie and Rikky, contributors of the two Forewords), country life, and most poignantly, the sale of the farm and the family’s move to Botesdale in Suffolk. | 
| GENIUS OF FRIENDSHIP: 'T. E. LAWRENCE' Frontispiece, pp. 78, paperback, 1988. Out of print. First published in 1941, the Society reprinted this scarce and long out-of-print book to celebrate the centenary of the birth of T.E. Lawrence. It quotes extensively from TEL's correspondence to HW, and is a warm appreciation of their friendship. Reproduced for the very first time is TEL's telegram to HW, his last words – he crashed his motorcycle returning from the post office after sending it. | 
| FROM A COUNTRY HILLTOP Illustrated, pp. 131, paperback, 1988; £5.00 ISBN: 978-0-9508652-5-6 A charming collection of 58 essays, written between 1958 and 1964, which were published in the Co-operative Society’s Home Magazine and the Sunday Times. They show HW’s descriptive powers at their best, and nowhere better than in ‘The Last Summer’, an evocative re-creation of that golden summer of 1914. Buy this book | 
| DAYS OF WONDER Introduction by Richard Williamson, illustrated, pp. 104, paperback, 1987. Awaiting reprint. An important collection of 38 articles first published in the Daily Express between 1966 and 1971, a late flowering of HW's long relationship with the Express. Subjects range from graphic descriptions of the battles of the Somme and Vimy Ridge, written to celebrate their fiftieth anniversaries, to essays on ecology and conservation – in particular in support of banning the hunting of otters, and a trilogy of essays on the occasion of a congress of the World Wildlife Fund held in London in 1970. The late Richard Richardson, a talented wildlife artist whom HW had know in Norfolk, was commissioned to illustrate several articles, and these attractive drawings are reproduced here. | 
| THE NOVELS OF HENRY WILLIAMSON, by John Middleton Murry Introduction by Dr J. Wheatley Blench, pp. 78, 1986. Out of print. John Middleton Murry (1889–1957), critic and founder of the literary magazine The Adelphi, thought highly of Henry Williamson's writing. This perceptive and important essay, which covers The Flax of Dream tetralogy and the first three volumes of A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight, was included in his posthumously published collection Katherine Mansfield and other Literary Studies (Constable, 1959). | 
| CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WEEKLY DISPATCH pp. 54, stapled booklet, 1969, reprinted by the Society 1983; £3.95 ISBN: 978-0-9508652-1-8 The very earliest published writings of HW, which appeared in the Weekly Dispatch between July 1920 and January 1921, during his short-lived Fleet Street career. They include ‘The Country Week’ (short nature sketches) and ‘On the Road’ (a weekly column on light cars offering occasionally somewhat dubious advice!). HW’s fictionalised account of this period appears in The Innocent Moon (1961). Buy this book |
For SOCIETY JOURNALS please see the Society's Journals page. | A limited quantity of back numbers of many of the annual journals are available, from No. 31 (1995, the Centenary Issue), to the current issue. These numbers are listed in our Online Bookshop. Photocopies of particular articles from out-of-print journals can be supplied on request for a reasonable price; please contact Online Bookshop Enquiries for a quotation. Back to top of page |
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