Arthur George Street (7 April 1892 – 21 July 1966), who wrote under the name of A. G. Street, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

farmer, writer and broadcaster. His books were published by the literary publishing house of

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...

. His best-known book was ''Farmer's Glory'', describing his time in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and how he returned to

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

Life and work

The son of a Wiltshire tenant farmer, Street was born at Ditchampton Farm,

Wilton, Wiltshire Wilton is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire (of which it was once the county town), England, with a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. Carpets have been manufactured at Wilton since the 18th century. Today it is overshadowed by i ...

, near

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, where he eventually took over the tenancy. He was educated at

Dauntsey's School Dauntsey's School is a public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 11–18 in the village of West Lavington, Wiltshire, England. The school was founded in 1542, in accordance with the will of William Dauntesey, a maste ...

, where agriculture was part of the curriculum, and left school in 1907 at the age of sixteen. He then spent some years learning farming from his father.Pamela Street, ''My Father A. G. Street'' (1969). He later wrote that: Next, Street spent some years working on a farm in Canada, arriving in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

in 1910. There he learnt a more expansive form of agriculture than he knew at home. First of all a working farmer, Street began to try his hand at writing as a way to supplement his farm income when it was severely reduced by prices falling during the great agricultural depression of the 1920s and 1930s. He continued to farm after he became a popular author. He portrayed farm life in the south of England without idealizing it, and his use of

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

strengthens his imagery of rural life. His books were mainly light fiction, often based on the

farming community and to some degree autobiographical. His book ''Strawberry Roan'' was turned into a film. A critical work of 2006 brackets him with

George Sturt George Sturt (18 June 1863–4 February 1927), who also wrote under the pseudonym George Bourne, was an English writer on rural crafts and affairs. He was born and grew up in Farnham, Surrey, the son of Ellen née Smith (1829–1890) and Fra ...

Adrian Bell Adrian Hanbury Bell (4 October 1901 – 5 September 1980) was an English ruralism, ruralist journalist and farmer, and the first compiler of ''The Times'' crossword. Early life Bell was born at Stretford, Lancashire, son of Robert Bell (1865 ...

Henry Williamson Henry William Williamson (1 December 1895 – 13 August 1977) was an English writer who wrote novels concerned with wildlife, English social history and ruralism. He was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 for his book ''Tarka ...

W. H. Hudson William Henry Hudson (4 August 1841 – 18 August 1922) – known in Argentina as Guillermo Enrique Hudson – was an English Argentines, Anglo-Argentine author, natural history, naturalist and ornithology, ornithologist. Life Hudson was the ...

H. J. Massingham Harold John Massingham (25 March 1888 – 22 August 1952) was a prolific British writer on ruralism, matters to do with the countryside and agriculture. He was also a published poet. Life Massingham was the son of the journalist H. W. Massingham ...

H. V. Morton Henry Canova Vollam Morton (known as H. V. Morton), (26 July 1892 – 18 June 1979) was a journalist and pioneering travel writer from Lancashire, England. He was best known for his many books on London, Great Britain and the Holy Land. He fi ...

, Constance Holme and

Mary Webb Mary Gladys Webb (25 March 1881 – 8 October 1927) was an English Romance (literary fiction), romance novelist and poet of the early 20th century, whose work is set chiefly in the Shropshire countryside and among Shropshire characters and ...

. He wrote a weekly column for ''

Farmers Weekly ''Farmers Weekly'' is a magazine aimed at the British farming industry. It provides news; business features; a weekly digest of facts and figures about British, European and world agriculture; and livestock, arable and machinery sections with ...

'' for thirty years. He was also a prolific radio broadcaster, appearing on ''

The Brains Trust ''The Brains Trust'' was an informational BBC radio and later television programme popular in the United Kingdom during the 1940s and 1950s, on which a panel of experts tried to answer questions sent in by the audience. History The series was ...

'' and many other

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

programmes, and a member of the

Empire Poetry League The Empire Poetry League was a British-based organisation founded in 1917,Brian Stableford, "Against the New Gods: The Speculative Fiction of S. Fowler Wright", in ''Against the New Gods and Other Essays on Writers of Imaginative Fiction'', Wildsid ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was a member of the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...

, on one occasion joining the chase for a missing German parachutist. Street is himself the subject of a radio programme by the poet Sean Street.Sean Street, ''The Dymock poets'' (1994), p. 168.

Family

Street's sister Dorothea Street was also an author, her children's book ''The Dog-Leg Garden'' being published in 1951. His sister

Fanny Street Fanny Street (21 November 1877, Wilton, Wiltshire - 20 March 1962, Hindhead, Surrey) was Acting Principal of Royal Holloway College, University of London (RHC) in 1944-1945. Her brother was Arthur George Street author of ''Farmer's Glory''. Edu ...

founded

Hillcroft College Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College is a further education college located in Richmond and Surbiton in Greater London. It was established in 2017 by a merger between Richmond Adult Community College and the specialist Hillcroft Colleg ...

. His daughter

Pamela Street Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname *Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''Pamela'', ...

was an author and poet, and wrote a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

''My Father, A. G. Street'' (Robert Hale, 1969), with a foreword by

Arthur Bryant Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant, (18 February 1899 – 22 January 1985) was an English historian, columnist for ''The Illustrated London News'' and man of affairs. His books included studies of Samuel Pepys, accounts of English eighteenth- and ...

Books

Street's books include the following, with year of publication: * ''Farmer's Glory'' (1932), new edition by Little Toller Books 2017 * ''Strawberry Roan'' (1932) * ''Country Days: a series of broadcast talks'' (1933) * ''Land Everlasting'' (1934) * ''Thinking Aloud'' (1934) * ''The Endless Furrow'' (1934) * ''Country Calendar'' (1935) * ''To be a Farmers Boy'' (1935) * ''The Gentlemen of The Party'' (1936) * ''Moonraking'' (1936) - illustrated by

Lionel Edwards Lionel Edwards (9 November 1878 – 13 April 1966) was a British artist who specialised in painting horses and other aspects of British country life. He is best known for his hunting scenes but also painted pictures of horse racing, shootin ...

* ''Farming England'' (1937) * ''Already Walks To-Morrow'' (1938) * ''Hedge Trimmings'' (1938) * ''Farming - how to begin'' (1939) * ''A Year of My Life'' (1939) * ''A Crook in the Furrow'' (1940) * ''Round the Year on a Farm'' (1941) * ''Wessex Wins'' (1941) * ''Harvest by Lamplight'' (1941) * ''From Dusk to Dawn'' (1942) * ''Hitler's Whistle'' (1943) * ''Ditchampton Farm'' (1946) * ''Holdfast'' (1946) * ''England today in Pictures'' (1949) * ''Landmarks'' (1949) * ''In His own Country'' (1950) * ''Wheat and Chaff'' (1950) * ''Shameful Harvest'' (1952) * ''Feather Bedding'' (1954) * ''Kittle Cattle'' (1954) * ''Master of None'' (1956) * ''Sweetacres'' (1956) * ''Bobby Bocker'' (1957) * ''Coopers Crossing'' (1962) * ''Fair Enough'' (1962), writing as "James Brian" * ''Fish and Chips'' (1964) * ''Johnny Cowslip'' (1964)

Other work

Street also wrote many newspaper and magazine articles and contributed to travel and other books, including: *Essay in ''English Country: Fifteen Essays by Various Authors'' (1934, ed.

, with

H. E. Bates Herbert Ernest Bates (16 May 1905 – 29 January 1974), better known as H. E. Bates, was an English writer. His best-known works include ''Love for Lydia'', '' The Darling Buds of May'', and '' My Uncle Silas''. Early life H.E. Bates was ...

Edmund Blunden Edmund Charles Blunden (1 November 1896 – 20 January 1974) was an English poet, author, and critic. Like his friend Siegfried Sassoon, he wrote of his experiences in World War I in both verse and prose. For most of his career, Blunden was als ...

W. H. Davies William Henry Davies (3 July 1871 – 26 September 1940) was a Welsh poet and writer, who spent much of his life as a tramp or hobo in the United Kingdom and the United States, yet became one of the most popular poets of his time. His themes inc ...

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...

, and John Collier) *

Foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the ...

Dorothy Hartley Dorothy Rosaman Hartley (4 October 1893 – 22 October 1985) was an English social historian, illustrator, and author. Daughter of a clergyman, she studied art, which she later taught. Her interest in history led her into writing. Among her book ...

's ''The Countryman's England'' (1935) *Essay in ''Britain and the Beast'' (1937, with

J. M. Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...

, John Moore,

E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...

Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, CBE, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales. He became a major figure in the development of Welsh architec ...

and H. J. Massingham) *'This Bloody Sport' in ''The London Mercury and Bookman'' (1938), pp. 139–143 *'Farm Cottages and Post-War Farming' in ''Design for Britain'' ( E. C. Fairchild 1942) *'Work and Wages: A Farmer's View', in ''New English Review'', Vol. 12 (1946), pp. 241–249 *'The Inner History of Camping' in ''A book of modern prose'' (ed. Margaret Flower, 1951)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Street AG 1892 births 1966 deaths 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English novelists English male novelists People educated at Dauntsey's School People from Wilton, Wiltshire 20th-century English non-fiction writers English broadcasters