Subtitled ‘the philosophy of the King of the Norfolk poachers, written by Himself’, this pot-pourri of autobiography, rural verse and philosophising has long been recognised as a rural classic. The superb illustrations by Edward Seago bring the text to life and remain long in the reader’s memory.

The ‘Himself’ was Frederick Rolfe, born in north Norfolk, who was addicted to poaching and early fell foul of the law. His unruly life led to several prison sentences, scrapes with gamekeepers – and more scrapes when he briefly became a gamekeeper himself.

You will find in the book lots of anecdotes of the countryside, wildlife and poaching ways as well as details of prisons and magistrates. These are linked by poignant personal memories of families fighting for existence in very hard times.

The book’s republication in a fine facsimile edition coincides neatly with the publication (by Old Pond) of Charlotte Paton’s book The King of the Norfolk Poachers. In her examination of what can be known of the true life of Fred Rolfe, the author adds another dimension to this outstanding work.