Gervase Phinn is offered the post of County Inspector of Schools in North Yorkshire. As he reveals in this warm and wonderfully humorous account, his first year was quite an educational experience. He learns to appreciate the countryside and meets some larger than life characters, from lords, farmers, teachers, priests and caretakers to a host of endearing and disarming children who know exactly how to speak...
In this digitised age of shared information it is easy to take for granted the power of the printed word. Here Melvyn Bragg presents a vivid reminder of the book as agent of social, political and personal revolution. In the fascinating book accompanying the ITV series, Melvyn Bragg takes a look at the most important British books in history, and their long-lasting effects which can still be felt throughout the world today. Far from being a study of dry texts...