George Sturt

Born in Farnham, Surrey, in 1863, he was an English writer who often published as George Bourne. Before becoming known for his books, he worked as a schoolmaster.

A turning point came after his father’s death in 1894, when he took over the family wheelwright business in Farnham. That practical knowledge shaped some of his most valued writing, especially his accounts of traditional crafts, farming, and the daily life of working people in the English countryside.

His books are still remembered for the close attention they give to manual skill, speech, and local custom. Rather than treating rural life as a quaint backdrop, he wrote about it from the inside, with sympathy, precision, and a clear sense that older ways of living were disappearing.