Rural is a captivating blend of biography and exploration that delves into the evolution of Britain's most prosperous rural working-class sectors over the centuries up to the present day. The book intricately examines how these industries seamlessly integrate into the cultural fabric of Britain, shedding light on the individuals who form their foundation.

For those familiar with the rural lifestyle, spending one's formative years in such surroundings creates a lasting affinity that makes adapting to city life, and more importantly, finding true happiness in it, a challenging endeavour.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I loved this book about the forgotten history of the UK, interspersed with the anecdotes of Smith and her friends and family. Her writing takes you on her journey around Britain, rediscovering old and new ways of living.

Rural gives an interesting insight into the lives and working conditions of a range of rural workers. Smith grew up in tied accommodation and gives a really personal insight into growing up, and life in, working in the countryside.
I liked that Smith researched and discussed industries which were separate from her personal experiences, but it did feel slightly as though - because of the inclusion of a range of industries - we were scratching the surface sometimes. Perhaps this is more suited to what the general public would like, however, and I imagine it may be more suited to a more casual reader. I would love to read a more in depth memoir of Smith's own personal upbringing.

Rural is hybrid biography and exploration of Britain's most lucrative rural working-class industries over the centuries through to present day, how exactly these fit into the British cultural landscape and the type of people who underpin them. As someone who grew up in a small town in Northumberland and who remains there to this day - albeit after a detour through a variety of more heavily populated areas such as Newcastle - this book sounded appealing to me, and as other country bumpkins will know, living your formative years in a rural location makes it difficult to ever live, or more importantly be happy, in a city. Interspersing her own family history between chapters dedicated to Land; Wood; Coal; Water; Food; Slate; Textiles; Tourism; Development; Business; and Our Land, Smith explores each industry from its inception and early days and its evolution through to today.

She manages to pack a lot of meticulous research into the short book illustrating the belonging, ownership and the changing landscapes of rural working-class life and then relates this to her own life and experiences growing up in a tied house, and her family’s continued relationship with land and forestry, which are interwoven with the histories and experiences of coal and slate miners, foresters, textile workers, and reservoir builders across communities in Scotland, Wales and England. Rural impeccably reveals a part of society that has been largely forgotten. It becomes tiresome to read stories about landowners, lairds, the Big House and rich people who always seem to get their own way or of reading a tourist’s view of the countryside.

Tourists often forget that the beauty they flock to see is a working environment. People actually live and work there. This book tells the stories of the families who are making a living within this natural world and have done so for generations. It tells the stories of tenants whose lives went unrecorded. Smith has written a compelling, accurate and original paean to working-class British workers from the countryside who have for too long been neglected; within these pages is well-deserved recognition of the industries they propped up almost singlehandedly and the subsequent decline of some of said industries e.g. coal. An interesting and informative read.

This is a memoir about a working class upbringing in the English countryside. It's divided into different industries that people work in and although its well written it didn't quite grip my interest and I had to mark it as DNF around 3/4 through as it just wasn't for me.

It was fascinating and informative. It talks about a personal story but also about different industries and way of living.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Really interesting memoir/history book by an author who grew up on a country estate because her father worked there as a forrester. Each chapter focuses on a specific industry, such as coal, wood, wool, etc and traces the history of different regions around these. A lot of intelligent and interesting comments on housing, and on Airbnb in recent times. I found it enjoyable for the history side, the memoir was a mixed bag - stories of her childhood were interesting, stories about her three children... less so.