Review: Lark Rise to Candleford (novel)

Just finished this book, so now I can tick it off my list of New Year's Book Resolutions.

Lark Rise to Candleford isn't actually a novel. It's three "novels" that are actually Flora Thompson's autobiography, focusing on her childhood in Lark Rise and Candleford Green. The books were originally written and published separately. In 1945 they were combined into this version, and have been published together ever since. The title and some of the character names were stolen for the series that claims to be based on it. Actually, the series bears as much resemblance to the book as it does to The Lord of the Rings.

Going by the blurb on the back, I expected the book to describe the author's time working for the post office. That does happen... eventually. In the third book. The other two are essentially a series of essays describing her childhood, the people she knew, and what life was like in the late 1800s. Fascinating as an insight into history, but not what I was expecting.

It took me a while to get used to the book's format. In the first book each chapter deals with a different subject -- preparing food, the lives of the neighbours, and going to school, among others. It's essentially a series of anecdotes connected on that subject. The second book widens its focus outside Lark Rise, when Laura and her family go to visit their relatives in Candleford. And finally the third one shows Laura getting a job in the post office and working for Miss Lane.

Lark Rise to Candleford is interesting as both a semi-fictionalised autobiography and a sort of history book. But as a story on its own, it frequently falls flat. There are several references to things that happened later in Mrs. Thompson's life -- most notably the death of her brother in World War I. The only problem is that these references aren't elaborated on. One minute the narrator is describing life in the 1890s, the next she mentions something that happened in the 1920s. It feels like she meant to continue writing about her later life then remembered she was writing about her childhood. (Apparently she did write another autobiography about life in the 1900s, but that book isn't included in this compilation.)

If you're interested in lesser-known facts about the Victorian era and don't mind the essay-esque format of the first part, you might enjoy this book. And whatever else can be said of it, it's much better than the series.

Is it available online?: Not as far as I know.

Rating: 6/10.