John Ayscough’s Gracechurch (1913), is a vivid and moving account of the author’s childhood and youth, growing up in Ellesmere, Shropshire in the 1860s and 1870s.
Book now available — Order Now
In a substantial Introduction and through detailed annotation, this second edition reveals hard-to-come-by details of mid-Victorian provincial life―the houses, social and religious opinions and prejudices, good works, domestic economies (genteel standards maintained on limited means), and petty rivalries of Ellesmere ‘society’.
Gracechurch Hardback Book
£30.00
A collection of historic Victorian photography, part of which is in the Shropshire Archives, is used for many of the 30 illustrations.
Much care has been taken to produce something as close to, and as explanatory of, the original as possible which is the reason why commercial publication has not been sought. The font of the original text has been retained with the introduction, notes and appendix in a more modern one.
Gracechurch (1913) is a fascinating account of Bickerstaffe’s boyhood and of Victorian Ellesmere’s genteel - stratified society.
Francesca Eder
“A charming and engaging portrait of a small, Victorian market town in England, with a fascinating cast of characters, based on real people from the town of Ellesmere in Shropshire.
Asycough writes with wit, humour and style, relishing both the noble and the mundane, quick to comment on social niceties with gentle irony.
This new edition, ably edited and introduced by Christopher Jobson, a local historian and academic, gives valuable insight into Ayscough's life and influences in his thorough introduction, which reflects the importance of the liturgical life on the author.”