Richard Jefferies

Born near Swindon in Wiltshire in 1848, Richard Jefferies grew up on a small farm, and that early life shaped nearly everything he later wrote. He began as a local newspaper reporter before building a wider reputation as an essayist, novelist, and observer of country life.

Jefferies became admired for writing that joined careful attention to birds, fields, weather, and farming with a strong personal sense of wonder. His work on the natural world and rural England made him one of the distinctive literary voices of the Victorian period, and readers still return to books such as The Story of My Heart, Bevis, and After London.

He died in 1887 at just 38. Though his life was short, his writing had a long afterlife, especially among readers who value nature writing, reflective prose, and richly observed landscapes.