Walter Raymond is the forgotten man of Somerset Literature

Between 1890 and 1925 he wrote over 20 Novels and collections of fictionalised rural memories all set in the countryside of Somerset.

His work contains the essence of Somerset; the cheese, the cider, the dairy farms, the orchards, the moors, the rolling hills, the many country craftsmen and characters. Every part of the heritage of our rural past is captured in his works. His novels have been likened to those of Thomas Hardy and indeed some of his best tragedies have a similarity but on the whole it is Hardy without the depression. Whilst not hiding from harsh realities he has a much lighter and more joyous touch in his recounting of rural life.

The attached PDF gives a taster of his work. Taken from the 1906 book English Country Life it recounts the gradual move to improve the standards of farmhouse cheddar.

Amazingly the works of Walter Raymond have been out of print since the 1930s. We hope to shortly reprint some of the titles. If you would like to express an interest in these books please email our contact address so we can let you know of progress.

Mrs Darkes Dairy by Walter Raymond (PDF, 1.9MB)
Walter Raymond – a guide to his works (PDF, 98KB)

A romance set in floods on the Somerset Levels and Moors would seem to be very topical fiction. In fact this delightful short novel by Somerset author Walter Raymond was first published in 1894 and republished as part of ‘Good Souls of Ciderland’ in 1901.

Young Sam and Sabrina (PDF 461KB)