Abstract
The notion of merry England has a deceptively timeless air. It evokes images of rural bounty and festivity, sustained by values of community and underpinned by centuries of tradition. Some of the texts in this section have helped to shape such appreciations of the countryside. Yet the section as a whole explores the historical contingency of ‘merry England’, through a collection of texts which demonstrate important struggles over the meaning of the countryside.
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© 2003 Stephen Bending & Andrew McRae
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Bending, S., McRae, A. (2003). Merry England: Property, Pastoral and Rural Pleasures. In: Bending, S., McRae, A. (eds) The Writing of Rural England, 1500–1800. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230508255_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230508255_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-51138-9
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-50825-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)