Great novels and autobiographies set in the British countryside

Here is our literary guide on the best novels and autobiographies set in the British countryside.

Location: The Cotswolds

Set in a fictional Cotswold village, this series of novels quietly chronicles small-town life in the countryside. Thrush Green is the first instalment and is set during one pivotal day: May Day. It is feel-good reading from a different world.

Location: Avebury, Rollright Stones and Duncton Wood in Oxfordshire

This book centres around two moles, Rebecca and Bracken. The jovial descriptions of the English countryside are offset by the brutal rules of survival of the fittest, a reality of the animal kingdom. Similar to Watership Down, the animal characters are remarkably easy to empathise with.

Location: Thirsk, North Yorkshire

The memoirs of a country vet, this book is filled will all sorts of different stories, from tear- jerking moments to hilarious anecdotes.

Location: Yorkshire Moors

This gothic novel contains some of the most famous descriptions of the Yorkshire Moors in literature, and is as hauntingly tragic today as it was in 1847. A classic tale of love, death and revenge, the plot sweeps through the lives of three generations, while the wild landscape of the moors provides a backdrop to their triumphs and dramas.

Location: Oxfordshire

This semi-autobiographical trilogy follows the everyday drama of Victorian village life in rural Oxfordshire on the brink of industrialisation. It's a wonderful portrayal of a young girl growing up in a hamlet, village then small market town, from children's games and May Day celebrations to her first job as an assistant to the local post mistress.

Location: Herefordshire and Welsh Borders

This book is set in a farmhouse called The Vision on the border of England and Wales in Herefordshire. It is based around a family with identical twin boys who work together, sleep together develop a special bond. Mainly narrated through flash backs, it makes for a nostalgic read and offers a fascinating insight into this beautiful area of Britain.

Location: Rhondda Valley

Set in the valleys of South Wales, this novel deals with the daily life, struggles and tragedies of a small mining community, narrated by the youngest son of a poor family.

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland and St Ives, Cornwall

This landmark modernist novel revolves around the Ramsay family and their time at holiday home set on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, although it is generally thought to be based on Woolf’s childhood memories in St. Ives.

Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire

This book is probably known better as the film adaptation Kes. The novel makes inspiring reading with vivid descriptions of 1960s Britain in the full bloom of spring. This coming of age story, which is full of hope and humor, still strikes a cord with readers today.

Location: Sussex

Flora Poste’s stay at the aptly-named Cold Comfort Farm, in the fictional village of Howling in Sussex, is an unashamed parody of melodramatic rural life. This comic account of the doomed Starkadders family, and Flora’s attempts to help them, is best reflected in the names of the cows – Feckless, Graceless, Aimless and Pointless.