THE STORY OF A FARM

Like several of Goodall's other books (e.g., The Story of an English Village, 1979), this is a wordless social history of an aspect of English life, using Goodall's trademark technique of a half page that flips to create two scenes in each full double-spread. As always, the artist's watercolor technique and sense of history are sure as he creates a portfolio of scenes on or close to a single site over the centuries--here, from the wattle huts of the early Middle Ages through additions to and subtractions from the farmstead over the centuries: an Elizabethan farmhouse, for example, becomes mere wing to a substantial Georgian house that is used today for roadside teas. Fetes, farm animals, costumes, stone walls, and a nearby village add interest to the lovely land itself--which, after all, changes very little. A pleasure.