The Icknield Way

This title is one of Thomas's essays on travel, which portraits the English countryside enriched with interesting historical details. Edward Thomas (1878-1917) was a British poet, essayist, and novelist. Thomas's poems are noted for their attention to the English countryside and a certain colloquial style. His career in poetry only came after he had already been a successful writer and literary critic. In 1915, he enlisted in the British Army to fight in the First World War and was killed in action during the Battle of Arras in 1917, soon after he arrived in France. The short poem In Memoriam exemplifies how his poetry blends the themes of war and the countryside. "Much has been written of travel, far less of the road. Writers have treated the road as a passive means to an end, and honoured it most when it has been an obstacle; they leave the impression that a road is a connection between two points which only exists when the traveller is upon it." (Edward Thomas, The Icknield Way)

This early work by Edward Thomas was originally published in 1916 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Icknield Way' is one of Thomas's essays on travel. Philip Edward Thomas was born in Lambeth, London, England in 1878. His parents were Welsh migrants, and Thomas attended several schools, before ending up at St. Pauls. Thomas led a reclusive early life, and began writing as a teenager. He published his first book, The Woodland Life (1897), at the age of just nineteen. A year later, he won a history scholarship to Lincoln College, Oxford. Despite being less well-known than other World War I poets, Thomas is regarded by many critics as one of the finest.

WINNER OF THE 2014 THWAITES WAINWRIGHT PRIZE In the past, Hugh Thomson has written acclaimed books about Peru, Mexico and the Indian Himalaya. Now he returns to the most exotic and foreign country of them all – his own. Walking right across England, along ancient trackways and green grass roads, Hugh explores the way the country was and the way it is today: the legends, literature and natural world that define us, and the undercurrent of regret running throughout our history; what he calls ‘the unicorn disappearing into the trees’. From coast-to-coast and through the heart of the countryside, he shows how older,forgotten cultures like the Celts, Saxons and Vikings lie much closer to the surface than we may think. It is a journey enriched and partly told by the characters he meets along the way. By taking it, Hugh casts unexpected light – and humour – on the way we live now.

Early Man in South Buckinghamshire: An Introduction to the Archaeology of the Region introduces the archaeology of South Buckinghamshire. This book records and outlines the evidence for the presence and activities of the early inhabitants of the southern portion of the county. It includes the topics on soils and settlements, communications, and Old and New Stone Age. The tumuli and surface finds, Bronze and Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, and Chiltern crosses are also elaborated. This monograph likewise includes a discussion of the county archaeological society and museums that are concerned with South Buckinghamshire antiquities, such as the Buckinghamshire Record Society, High Wycombe Museum, and Council for British Archaeology. This publication is suitable for archeologists, historians, and investigators concerned with the archaeology of South Buckinghamshire.