In Pursuit of Sprint - A Wildwood Rediscovery

Wildwood's first `Rediscovery' was Edward Thomas's The Icknield War. Here now, is his account of a journey across Southern England, from London to the Quantocks. Rich in literary associations and observations, In Pursuit of Spring (first published in 1914) is also a book of natural observations, of anecdote and of topographical description. Much of the book remains good reading today because through Thomas's eyes we can compare the landscapes and townscapes of over 100 years ago with those of today; we can visit Salisbury Plain before the army invaded it, and compare two ways of life separated by two world wars and immense social changes. The great American poet, Robert Frost, who was an important influence on Thomas, recognised In Pursuit of Spring as a kind of poetry, having the cadences of fine verse. And it is to this poetic quality that we respond now when we follow Thomas on his journey across England...