Boys & Other Animals

ISBN 1-903953-27-8
Autobiography - family life
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by Josephine Duggan Rees
Amusing portrait of family life in rural England in the 1950s, 60s and 70s

In this, her third book for Woodfield, Josephine Duggan Rees takes a light-hearted look at her experiences of family life and motherhood in the 1950s-80s.

In 1952 her husband became a farm manager and for the ensuing 27 years they lived in a rambling farmhouse in the heart of the Sussex countryside, raising an energetic family of four boys whilst overseeing the running of a large arable and livestock farm.

The frequently comical trials and tribulations of their life on the farm – involving a retinue of colourful rural characters and a menagerie of assorted dogs, cats and horses – are delightfully depicted in a gently humorous style that will be familiar to readers who have already enjoyed Corduroy Days, Josephine’s entertaining account of her experiences in the Women’s Land Army during World War II.

Josephine’s struggle to keep up with the demands made on her as a farmer’s wife and mother of a boisterous all-male family is the source of much amusement. She makes fun of her own failings as a cook, housekeeper and childminder whilst describing the many escapades of her growing boys. All is conveyed with a gentle sense of fun which will delight readers of all ages and backgrounds but which will strike a particularly familiar chord with farming families.

details softback | 250 pages text plus b/w photos
keywords parenting | family life | farming | rural life | humour