Ode to the Countryside – Poems to celebrate the British landscape

I was looking online to see if there were any books illustrated by Clare Leighton available when up popped this one, Ode to the Countryside. It has only one of her illustrations in it but a few reviews mentioned that it is a beautiful book packed full of gorgeous artwork from many of those distinctive 1930s poster artists. I had to buy it as it was going for about fourpence ha’penny on the internet and when it arrived I wasn’t disappointed, it’s a thing of beauty, with lovely thick pages. Obviously it’s a book of poetry but for me the poems aren’t so exciting, if you’re into poetry you’ll probably feel differently. The book is a National Trust publication.

Here are some links to artwork by some of the featured artists.
Dora M. Batty

Irene Fawkes

Edward McKnight Kauffer

Frank Newbould

Herbert Kerr Rooke