A Wayside Tavern Book

First published in 1980, and reminiscent of Loft's earlier trilogy of 'House' novels, 'A Wayside Tavern' tells, in a series of dramatic incidents, the story of a Suffolk Public House (The One Bull) from the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, until the present day. A Roman veteran, crippled and left behind, worshiped a Briton called Mithras, so the place became known as the One Bull and down through the centuries it accommodated itself to changing times and became a clearing house for contraband, a miniature Hell Fire Club, a fashionable hotel, and lastly, a typical nineteen-seventies middle-class Sufolk country pub. The connection through the years of the tavern to the little church that sits behind it is fascinating. Yet by the end of the story, the little church hasn't been used in years and no one knows why it was built so close to the tavern. Also similar to I am England in its conception, but instead of the focus being on the landscape, the focus is on how the inn evolves and changes with each succession of inhabitants and the stories of generations of the inn owners. There are some touching romances, monks, a martyred Anglo Saxon king, Danes, the plague of 1348, the coming of the Reformation and so on. Norah Lofts remains one of Britain's favourite authors because she doesn't soften the harsh realities of life, nor does she change history in order to be politically correct. Her characters seem as real as people in our own lives with all their faults and quirks. Sex is always dealt with in a matter-of-fact manner in her stories; an essential part of life, and well described. If you've never read a Norah Lofts book, this is a fine fast-paced one to begin with. Hodder & Stoughton's printings: ISBN 0340254734 1980 Hardback; ISBN 0340791977 1981 BCA Hardback; ISBN 0340349131 1984 PaperbackRead More