From Mouths of Men

(Paperback, Main)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

From Mouths of Men (Faber, 1976) is the culmination of George Ewart Evans's studies in oral history. It rounds off and complements the author's previous book, The Days That We Have Seen - which dealt with 'the country' and 'land and sea' - by applying the same methods to 'the town' and 'mining'. The result is a valuable extension of the oral history technique, giving authentic pictures of the lives of domestic servants, business methods at the beginning of the century (there is a vivid contribution by Lord Rhodes), horse-transport in a small town (Aldeburgh when it was a fashionable watering place), clothes of the period, and the hard life of the miners in Wales.

Widely acclaimed as classics, George Ewart Evans's pioneering books on oral history have been as avidly read as the great diarists and chroniclers of the past, by a succession of generations. The book is illustrated by a remarkable series of photographs and vivid black and white line drawings.

Author Bio

Born in the mining town of Abercynon, South Wales, George Ewart Evans (1909-88) was a pioneering oral historian. In 1948 he settled with his family in Blaxhall, Suffolk, and through conversing with his neighbours he developed an interest in their dialect and the aspects of rural life which they described. Many were agricultural labourers, born before the turn of the century, who had worked on farms before the arrival of mechanisation. With the assistance of a tape recorder he collected oral evidence of the dialect, rural customs, traditions and folklore throughout East Anglia, and this work, reinforced by documental research, provided the background for his renowned East Anglian books.