History of the Dunmow Flitch of Bacon Custom

by William Andrews

History of the Dunmow Flitch of Bacon Custom is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1877. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

76 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1854

About the author

William Andrews (1848-1908) was a notable Victorian librarian, author and journalist, deeply influenced by the burgeoning interest in folklore and local history during his time. His work draws upon his extensive travels across England and familiarity with various dialects and traditions, reflecting his passion for documenting and preserving the nuances of British cultural heritage.
He is buried in Yorkshire, England.

Reviews

[Surreysmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

[These notes were made in 1984. I read this in the Howell, "de luxe" edition, undated but 19th-century:]. A very Scott-ian novel, with three mysterious parentages, a haunted room, secret tunnel, a Leontes-Hermione motif and two ghosts, one real and one fake. That's on the serious, "gentry" side. Then there's the ridiculous innkeeper Jonas and his flirty wife Nelly, who try to claim the flitch - a reward in Dunmow for a couple who can swear they've been completely happy for a year and a day after their wedding. This flitch is at length won by our happy protagonists, Rose - newly acknowledged elder daughter of the local squire - and Alured (Frank) - gamekeeper-turned-heir of Sir Walter Fitzwalter. Sir WF in his early days of marriage (n.b. that word, with a sledgehammer) to Juga, suspected her of infidelity with a friend, ran the friend through - and then Juga took poison. (Now, many years later, she does her return-from-the-dead act since Sir W is truly repentant. She of course, is the fake ghost; the friend is the real one). The friend is not restored to life, but, by way of amends, his son is married off to the newly-acknowledged younger daughter of the squire. Now, tho' I've maybe been a bit flippant about the plot I actually think this is one of Ainsworth's better efforts. Altho' he doesn't attempt dialect (we're in Essex) on anything like Scott's scale, he still does manage to make his middle-class rustics rather amusing. And Sir Walter actually does quite well as a repentant Gothic hero, although it is all in quite conventional ways (groaning in a deserted church, etc.) I don't know the date, but the sensibility is very 20s or 30s.

[Jason Savin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read an antiquated copy of this book many years ago, and the way in which the author stops his narrative to speak directly to the reader has stuck with me. It is such an unusual style and has influenced my own style of writing. The title of the book is based upon an old tradition of the town, where a married couple who have never felt I'll will towards their spouse is awarded a flitch of bacon. I really enjoyed this book.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1845, this is a fun look into days gone by. I very much enjoyed this one of Ainsworth's books.