{"product_id":"9781608196722","title":"Villages of Britain: The Five Hundred Villages that Made the Countryside","description":"Villages of Britain is the\u003cbr\u003ehistory of the countryside, told through five hundred of its most\u003cbr\u003enoteworthy settlements. Many of Britain's villages are known for their\u003cbr\u003eloveliness, of course, but their role in shaping the nation over the\u003cbr\u003ecenturies is relatively untold, drowned out by the metropolitan bias of\u003cbr\u003ehistory.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA consummate storyteller, Clive Aslet deftly weaves the worlds of\u003cbr\u003eagriculture, politics, the arts, industry, folklore, science, ecology,\u003cbr\u003efashion and religion into one irresistible volume. The Bedfordshire\u003cbr\u003eworks that a century ago manufactured half a billion bricks a year; the\u003cbr\u003eCheshire municipality striving to become the country's first\u003cbr\u003ecarbon-neutral community; the Derbyshire estate where the cottages\u003cbr\u003erepresent the gamut of European architecture; the Gloucestershire\u003cbr\u003ecommunity founded by Tolstoyans, who still live by anarchic principles;\u003cbr\u003ethe Leicestershire town where pub walls are embedded with Jurassic-era\u003cbr\u003efossils; the Morayshire settlement where Hogmanay is celebrated eleven\u003cbr\u003edays late; the Pembrokeshire fishing hamlet that inspired Dylan Thomas;\u003cbr\u003ethe Somerset village that was built on the back of the trade in\u003cbr\u003ePeruvian bird droppings; the Suffolk village that is rejecting\u003cbr\u003emodernity by reconstructing a windmill for grinding flour; the Surrey\u003cbr\u003ewoodland that fosters Europe's most ancient trees - all these are\u003cbr\u003eplaces that have made a unique contribution to the narrative of this\u003cbr\u003ecountry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFollow Clive Aslet in visiting all five hundred villages, and you will\u003cbr\u003ehave experienced the history of these islands from a uniquely rural\u003cbr\u003eperspective.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47133991796976,"sku":"9781608196722","price":64.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781608196722_p0.jpg?v=1763833785","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781608196722","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}