Adrian Bell
Adrian Bell was an influential English writer and farmer, born in 1901 in England. He spent his early years in education and transitioned to farming, where he found great joy and settled down to raise a family. In 1931, he married Marjorie Gibson and together they had three children. To support his family, Bell started writing about rural life, becoming a prominent voice in agrarian literature. He created crosswords for the London Times for several decades and penned a long-running column called "Countryman's Notebook" for the Eastern Daily. His literary works, including the semiautobiographical trilogy beginning with "Corduroy" (1930), explore the life of an apprentice farmer and the complexities of rural existence. Over his lifetime, he authored twenty-five books that not only evoke the beauty of the English countryside but also offer practical insights into farming life. Bell's writings are celebrated for their depth and emotional resonance, establishing him as one of the most beloved agrarian writers in England.
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Adrian Bell
Author
- Born: October 4, 1901
- Birthplace: Stretford, Lancashire, England
- Died: September 5, 1980
- Place of death: Suffolk, England
Biography
Adrian Bell was born in England in 1901 to Robert Bell, a journalist, and Frances Hanbury Bell. He attended English public schools. After leaving his London school at age nineteen, he happily worked on the farm where he would eventually settle down and raise children. He married Marjorie Gibson in 1931 and fathered two daughters and one son. Although he greatly enjoyed farming, he began to write of rural English farming life to supplement the family’s income. In the process, he compiled crosswords for the London Times between 1930 and 1980, wrote a weekly column, “Countryman’s Notebook,” for the Eastern Daily for thirty-five years, and contributed articles to a wide range of magazines. He lived on the farm in Suffolk for over fifty years, until his death in 1980.
His semiautobiographical first book, Corduroy (1930), which romantically details life in rural England, describes a farming apprentice’s experiences in Weston Colville. This book was followed by Silver Ley (1931) and The Cherry Tree (1932) which continued what came to be referred to as Bell’s trilogy. All three paint a picture of an apprentice farmer’s growth as a man and his attempts to understand the intricate elements of the world that surrounds him before he buys the farm where he raises a family that ultimately spans several generations. In all, Bell was to write twenty-five books; most vividly describe life in rural England.
Bell’s major achievement centers on that fact that, during his lifetime, he became one of the best-loved agrarian writers of all time. Besides describing bucolic scenes of hill and dale, his works also provide practical information concerning many aspects of daily life on a farm. He also sheds light on the vital role farmers play in providing food for the nation. His work, written with keen insight and great depth of feeling, is generally accepted as among the very finest ever written on the English countryside.