To School Through the Fields

by Alice Taylor

'A delightful evocation of Irishness and of the author's deep-rooted love of the very fields of home' Publishers Weekly

Alice Taylor's classic account of growing up in the Irish countryside, the biggest selling book ever published in Ireland, beautifully reproduced with photographs from Alice's life.

If ever a voice has captured the colors, the rhythms, the rich, bittersweet emotions of a time gone by, it is Alice Taylor's. Her tales of childhood in rural Ireland hark back to a timeless past, to a world now lost, but ever and fondly remembered. The colorful characters and joyous moments she offers have made To School Through the Fields an Irish phenomenon, and have made Alice herself the most beloved author in all of the Emerald Isle. A must-have for fans of Alice Taylor.

Genres: Ireland, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Irish Literature, Biography Memoir

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Alice Taylor lives in the village of Innishannon in County Cork, in a house attached to the local supermarket and post office. Since her eldest son has taken over responsibility for the shop, she has been able to devote more time to her writing.

Alice Taylor worked as a telephonist in Killarney and Bandon. When she married, she moved to Innishannon where she ran a guesthouse at first, then the supermarket and post office. She and her husband, Gabriel Murphy, who sadly passed away in 2005, had four sons and one daughter. In 1984 she edited and published the first issue of Candlelight, a local magazine which has since appeared annually. In 1986 she published an illustrated collection of her own verse.

To School Through the Fields was published in May 1988. It was an immediate success, launching Alice on a series of signing sessions, talks and readings the length and breadth of Ireland. Her first radio interview, forty two minutes long on RTÉ Radio's Gay Byrne Show, was the most talked about radio programme of 1988, and her first television interview, of the same length, was the highlight of the year on RTÉ television's Late Late Show. Since then she has appeared on radio programmes such as Woman's Hour, Midweek and The Gloria Hunniford Show, and she has been the subject of major profiles in the Observer and the Mail on Sunday.

To School Through the Fields quickly became the biggest selling book ever published in Ireland, and her sequels, Quench the Lamp, The Village, Country Days and The Night Before Christmas, were also outstandingly successful. Since their initial publication these books of memoirs have also been translated and sold internationally.

In 1997 her first novel, The Woman of the House, was an immediate bestseller in Ireland, topping the paperback fiction lists for many weeks. A moving story of land, love and family, it was followed by a sequel, Across the River in 2000, which was also a bestseller.

One of Ireland's most popular authors, she has continued writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry since.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

One can tell by the cover, which reminds me of the Dick and Jane readers, that this book will probably have a nostalgic feel. It does, a wonderful portrayal of an almost perfect childhood. This takes place in Ireland and includes the author and her family, but also some quirky neighbors. Milking the cows, making jelly, the hens, pigs, cows and goats, planting potatoes, work yes but plenty of time for rich experiences and fun. One thing I had never heard of is the stations, which was mass said in people's houses, each family taking a turn hosting. Each section has a poem in between each section, and they are as charming as the book.

The first stanza from one of the poems,
Give our children
Time to be children,
To savour the wonder
That is theirs.
To blossom in the world
Of their fimplicity,
Not darkened
By the shadows
That are ours.

The book jacket says on the front, this was published in 1938, thst this was the biggest bestseller I Ireland's history.

[Diane Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another of those books I seem to need more of these days, a nostalgic look at a seemingly idyllic childhood growing up on a farm in Ireland in a large family. No politics, no whining, no message, except that life is good if you know how to live it.

[Dem · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mothers favourite book as it reminded her of her childhood.

[Caren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an utterly charming little book. It is very light reading; since each chapter stands alone, it can be picked up at odd moments without losing any feel for the flow. Essentially, it is like listening to someone tell you about the good old days of her youth. In this case, her youth was spent on a farm in Ireland, probably in the 1940s (although she never gives any exact dates). It has an old-timey feel since the farm had no electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. You not only meet her immediate family, but all of her quirky neighbors and extended family. The whole account is told with great affection so there almost feels as though there is a glow emanating from the pages. If you are searching for a pleasant, undemanding read at this busy time of year, you need look no further. (This book was originally published in 1988 and, according to the jacket on my copy, was the "biggest bestseller in Ireland's history".)

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book at my parents' house... probably in their collection from my great Aunt Ruth. It was a wonderful collection of short vignettes of the author's childhood in rural Ireland in the time period of the 30's 40's. Really lovely and relaxing, and I will be looking for the others by this author.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple little book about country life in rural Ireland in the 1950s. I learned many new words and phrases--waiting in the haggard, carried a pike, opened the reek & threw the sheaves, seasoned up the chimney, and many more. Each chapter ended with a poem. They had a hard life but it was shared with lots of family and love.

[Reannon Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally delightful book that takes you back to simpler times & make you realise that we complicate life far too much now.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

More 3 1/2 stars. This is a sweet, simple, relaxing, calm - how many more adjectives can I use - slip of a memoir. Really not a traditional memoir per se, but a collection of short essays (none longer than 10 pages) detailing various parts of her rural Irish childhood in the 1940s. I had no idea how much the 1940s in rural Ireland was like the 1840s! Other than the occasional mention of listening to the radio at night after chores were done, the vibe was very nineteenth century.

There are chapters on the different farm animals, on harvest time, on hosting the Stations of the Cross for the neighborhood, profiles of various eccentric neighbors, plants that were around the farm, her father's toolbox, Christmas time, summer holiday at the beach, going to school(in the one room school house of course)......

This is the perfect book to have on your nightstand if you want to read a short time before sleeping and have what you read be true & good. If your daytime is stressful, then reading a chapter of this memoir before bed is a perfect antidote to anxiety.

[SweetAileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming book. The author shares glimpses of her life as a child with little tidbits of poetry sprinkled in.

Honestly, I found some of the chapters to be more poetic than the actual poetry. Particularly the following chapters; Preparing For The Stations, Forever Young, Open Spaces, and A One - Way Ticket.

[Carol Bakker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected to like this more. Alice Taylor's book is the happy side of growing up in Irish countryside, as opposed to Frank McCourt's miserable childhood in Limerick. But Alice's voice didn't have the melodic turns of phrases that so many Irish writers employ.

Also, the separate vignettes were disjointed; lacking a narrative arc, the book didn't compel me to flutter my fingers and interrupt a conversation with praise for it.

[Fiona MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and witty is what I would describe Alice Taylor's personal account of a year on her family's farm in post-war Ireland. This account conjures up a wonderful nostalgia that is sadly all gone today, but the memories of it are still as fresh and poignant in Alice's mind as they have ever been. Her descriptions of friends, family and farming are sure to put a contented smile on your face.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

No doubt an open account by the author of events around growing up in Ireland in this era.
I cant help though, being influenced by my own life in as similar era.
Was it really that great?
Is there so little you might change for the better?
I wanted more.
2 stars

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Auch dieses war ein Challenge-Buch. Ein Buch, von dem ich noch nie gehört hatte, ist aber eines der meistverkauften Bücher in Irland. Nach der Lektüre, versteht man auch weshalb.

Nostalgie. Das kam mir während des Lesens immer wieder in den Sinn. Reine, schöne Nostalgie, der wir uns alle nur allzu gerne hingeben. In Kindheitserinnerungen schwelgen, an eine Welt denken, die es so nicht mehr gibt. Vielleicht auch nie gegeben hat.

Es macht Freude, diese Geschichten zu lesen. Auch wenn man stets im Hinterkopf hat, dass man sich die Vergangenheit oft schöner vorstellt, als dass sie wirklich war. Nichtsdestotrotz spürt man die Liebe, die Taylor für ihre Heimat pflegt. Voller Freude erzählt sie von Nachbarn, Aufgaben und Abenteuern.

Sie nimmt uns mit in eine Welt, die es so tatsächlich nicht mehr gibt. Vor allem für mich, die Bauern nur mit Luxuskarossen kennt, deren Bereifung doppelt so gross ist, wie ich selbst, Bauern mit den modernsten Melkmaschinen, den neuesten Traktoren und den grössten Anbauten zum Hof, sind die Schilderungen Taylors faszinierend. So anders war das Leben auf dem Bauernhof noch vor einigen Jahren.

Auch erhält man einen guten Einblick in die Gesellschaft und Kultur Irlands. Der Glaube ist wichtig, aber Beistand innerhalb der Familie und den Nachbarn ist wichtiger. Man ist gerne alleine, aber nie allein. Zumindest zur Jugendzeit der Autorin erschien es so.

Wenn man selbst irischer Abstammung ist, bedeutet einem dieses Werk wahrscheinlich um einiges mehr, als wenn man es bloss für eine Challenge liest, wie in meinem Falle. Dennoch gingen mir die Geschichten ans Herz und ich habe mich selbst oft in eigenen Kindheitserinnerungen schwelgend wiedergefunden.

Das darf auch ab und zu mal sein.

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

To School Through the Fields evokes a time and place that don't exist anymore, at least not outside of Alice Taylor's mind. In postwar Ireland, Alice's farm is a tranquil and rhythmic place, where the seasons dictate the daily work and where family is both companionship and fellow laborer. The language is so lovely, the point of view reminding me much of Laura in Little House on the Prairie. We see the work of adults through the eyes of a child, the novelty and familiarity of the tasks that must be done: ploughing, reaping, planting and picking. The community as well, familiar and quirky neighbors, that contracted map of a child where the home (and its fields) are at the center, Alice describes this world with humor and a gentle whimsicality that's a delight to read.

The book itself is really a series of vingettes with interspersed poetry - there's no overarching plot, no character development or grand point to be made, except, maybe, this: that the world is a grand and beautiful place, both in the minute details and in the lovely expanse of it. Alice Taylor paints a picture here with words that shows us both.

[Chet Makoski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Taylor's stories are like a warm wool blanket, a hot cup of Irish Breakfast Tea, scones with butter and jam, and your favorite view out the window on a beautifully crisp day.

[Cate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pastoral. Parts remind me of James Herriot—quirky neighbors, remote farm, working animals who are beloved, the seasons, the hope and happiness—it all seems to belong to the genre and idealization of rural life in the 1930s and 1940s. Taylor blends prose and poetry to depict a happy childhood in Ireland. It’s charming and evokes nostalgia for a time and place I only know through imagination and story. I read this because it was a great bestseller in Ireland. I can see the appeal. For me, Frank McCourt’s memoir of his unhappy childhood (Angela’s Ashes) feels like an upside down distorted mirror of this—similar timeframe, same country, and (spoiler deaths of younger sibling(s))—but the urban/rural and male/female distinctions are hugely different, as are the families. Taylor’s description of her parents is so loving and generous. It’s a light and happy read despite that spoiler. If you’re looking to escape or to view farming as close to a sacrament, this is for you. If you’re looking for gritty, look elsewhere.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long time ago, I learned an expression that went like this; (such and such person or event) "of happy memory." Well this tale is definitely "of happy memory." A memoir of farm life in Ireland in the late 1930s and 1940s. The author said rather than let some historians of the future try to recreate what life was like, she preferred to set down the life she experienced. While she mentions sadness and hardship, it is by and large extremely positive and upbeat, almost unbelievably so, but perhaps that makes it a great book to put on the other side of the balancing scales against "Angela's Ashes!"

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Taylor’s book, To School Through The Fields, is a lovely journey back in time. The author describes her life growing up on a farm in Ireland when horses were the mode of transportation and vital to a farm’s survival. Her loving family worked hard and they struggled but thy were also blessed with a simple and happy life. The stories told were enjoyable and they made me feel nostalgic as I reminisced about my own childhood that was also rich in family love and carefree.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book of Alice Taylor's and I will definitely be reading more.

Her delightful account of childhood in rural Ireland, depicts a way of life which is now largely lost in the passages of time. She has lovingly rekindled and encapsulated these memories of bucolic life, childhood antics, and close knit farming communities in this novel.

I throughly enjoyed this book which is an easy read and nicely uncomplicated.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read filled with details of local customs and traditions, although it feels a little idealized.

[Caroline McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a non-fiction memory journey down an Irish lane during the 1940s and 1950s. It was mostly an enjoyable read and I loved reading about the different characters that the author had known as a child. I enjoyed less the detail she went into about certain farming practices. This was a bit of a snooze-fest for me. I also had to skip the pages that detailed the slaughtering of their pig, which they did themselves ... I decided it wasn't on a need-to-know basis for me. But I wish I HAD skipped the bit detailing the death of Paddy the horse, but I'd begun reading it before I knew what was coming and I got sucked into the storytelling. To say I was bawling would not be a lie, and I was cursing Alice Taylor by the end of the chapter. I don't like sad bits (especially concerning animals) in books.

Although I enjoyed reading it, I did realize that the author wrote it through the rose-tinted lense of hindsight and nostalgia. Everything was written in a twee manner and focused 100% on the positive. To read it, you would be forgiven for thinking that the author lived an idyllic childhood that contained zero negative or traumatic experiences. Everything was a little bit too happy-clappy,which is why I gave it a luke-warm 3 stars.

Would I read more from this author?? Yes, I would. They are a lovely cosy and nostalgic read of days long gone.

[John Maye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true reflection of magic days

A most read for anyone who grew up on a small farm in Ireland as in my case in the 1950/60s.
The book is a very true reflection of those golden days of childhood. Of the farm work & characters who lived at that time. Tough time to live for the adults rearing big families with very little money. But self sufficient in many ways because of their hard work. Days now long gone , some would say good riddance because of all the hard work & other wrongs of that era. But most would look back & say a magic time to live as kids, something that never leaves you

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rambling, diffuse handful of memories of an Irish childhood. The book is not organised in any way, neither "through the country year" nor starting from earliest memories to a given age. Taylor apparently just wrote down whatever came to mind as and when it surfaced. The text is padded out with uncaptioned photographs (which to the modern reader are sometimes of unknown, inexplicable objects) which may or may not have any connection to the text where they were placed, and the author's poetry. Even as a memoir it skips back and forth from earliest childhood to school days and back again. With a little editorial advice it would have flowed better and been more enjoyable.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book about Taylor's childhood in rural Ireland. It is an indication of how frankly, backward, Ireland was, that it was impossible for me to figure out when this took place. She was born in 1938 but it could have taken place any time from 1910 to 1950. Her father farmed with horses, they walked to town, and lived in a tight-knit community. The only indication that it was the 20th century was the family owned a radio and therefore must have had electricity, but there wasn't much indication of electrification in the house or farm.

[Eoin O'Callaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can remember this book being published in 1988, and I can remember Alice Taylor being interviewed on The Late Late Show. Stumbled across this book in a second-hand bookstore in Belfast, and bought it. It is a beautiful nostalgic, lyrical, tribute to rural Irish family farming life. This would be very similar to the childhood my own mother would have had. Taylor is able to evoke that life beautifully with her writing about family, nature, the seasons, the joys of childhood, and the colourful characters who lived near her as she grew up. Recommended.

[Ainscough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh the nostalgia. I think I read this when I was a child but don't remember it, I remember my Mum having it though. I listened to this read by the author and it took me back home, it made me cry more than once and it made me feel like I was wrapped in a comfortable hug a lot of the time. The Ireland of this book is an Ireland that existed before my time, but elements carried through to my childhood, things I hadn't remembered in years. I am so glad I listened to this, I found it so comforting and real.

[Heidi Daniele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Taylor’s To School through the Fields feels like a fantasy. This account of her childhood growing up on a farm in Ireland is pure and simple. I felt transported to a time and place where being present in the moment would fill you with joy. Taylor brings forth the essence of nature and the goodness of living in a simple time and place of basic needs. Her story left me wishing everyone could experience these pleasures.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book which was the biggest best seller in Ireland's history was a trip back in time. My mother and I grew up on farms and this book reminded me of both my mom's stories and my own history. I also found the various Catholic traditions of those days in Ireland very interesting. This was a gentle read.

[Roy McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written memoire that has ridden a wave of Irish nostalgia. The quality and detail of each chapter paints a vivid picture of rural life in the early 1950s. Certainly the author gives the impression that each day was an adventure if you were a child. I wonder if the adults had quite the same take on life? Maybe I'll read her later books and find out.

[Christine D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful journey to rural Ireland. This connected me to the family life of her growing up around 1930. This was especially well written. The stories are fun and filled with characters you want to sit and join for a cup of tea.
Especially appreciated her visual writing and sense of place as my Dad grew up in such a setting in Ireland.