Ronald Blythe was a British writer, essayist and editor, best known for his work Akenfield (1969), an account of agricultural life in Suffolk from the turn of the century to the 1960s.

He wrote a long-running and considerably praised weekly column in the Church Times entitled Word from Wormingford.

He died two years ago, aged 100, and biographer Ian Collins draws on his long friendship with Blythe and access to a host of reference materials to write a sensitive, revelatory portrait which celebrates a fascinating and complex man.

In his Church Times column, Blythe’s writing invited readers to share his enchanting perspective on the world.

Yet the ‘real’ Ronald Blythe left school at 14, and educated himself in libraries, churches and walks in the East Anglian landscape. He experienced early poverty, wartime trauma, and his sexuality was kept private except from those closest to him.

In this review of Collins’s book, Paul Handley, a former editor of the Church Times, says: ‘Perhaps the greatest praise for Collins — and maybe it was why Blythe chose him — is that he has written in the character of Blythe: interested, affectionate, but unsentimental. It would have made Ronnie extremely cheerful.’
Ian Collins is in conversation with Caroline Montague at Bridport Arts Centre on Thursday 6 November at 2pm. Tickets from Bridport Tourist Information Centre – 01308 424901 – or online here.