HERE is another East Anglian collection of reflections on rootedness, locality, and vanishing countryside skills. Acclamations gracing the covers suggest a new rural classic, along the lines of George Ewart Evans, Ronald Blythe, or Robert Ashton — a little precipitously, perhaps.
Charles Moseley has taught literature in Cambridge for decades while living in the little fenland village of Reach. Now, however, the time has come to “downsize” and to relocate to an ancient cottage owned by his wife in the centre of Ely. Facing the challenges of leaving a beloved place where you are deeply rooted, where you know the stories behind road names and the genesis of marks etched into the stones of your house, to make a new start in a fresh environment is a rite of passage all too familiar to an ageing population. But this central theme or “evening journey” recounted in Moseley’s memoir is, sadly, never fully realised.
Being in the casually privileged position of owning two houses concurrently may have something to do with it: the author’s relocation is rather less displacement and more a gradual transition, which significantly undercuts his moments of perception. Moreover, while Moseley can be an entertaining and informed companion, his tendency to dive eagerly into historical cul-de-sacs overwhelms and dilutes any focus on the dislocation experienced by such a big move.
That said, the book is best when he traverses the streets of Ely, drawing out its past, the reasons for its layout, and its place in the politics and history of England. Above looms the ever-present shadow of the cathedral, which pulls him regularly into its rhythms and traditions. We accompany him as he enthusiastically unfolds stories of St Etheldreda and Oliver Cromwell, allowing them cosily to rub shoulders with memories of ordinary citizens who provided colour and character in more recent years. Here, the relationship of past to present and the rich diversity of life and history to be found packed tightly in every city, no matter how small or provincial, come tantalisingly alive.
While there is much to hold a reader’s interest, then, the book never quite fulfils the promise that its cover text offers. Hampered by weak editing and poor proofing (surprisingly, from one whose biography describes him as having been both a printer and a publisher), its avowed exploration of the vicissitudes of shifting your home base late in life fades into the background behind a maze of historical anecdotes.
The Revd Richard Greatrex is Rector of the Chew Valley East Benefice, in Somerset.
To the Eel Island: An evening journey
Charles Moseley
Merlin Unwin Books £16.99
(978-1-913159-83-2)
Church Times Bookshop £15.29
