As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning
First edition (UK)
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| Author | Laurie Lee |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Leonard Rosoman |
| Cover artist | Shirley Thompson |
| Publisher |
André Deutsch (UK) Atheneum Publishers (US) David R. Godine, Publisher (US) |
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Publication date
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1969 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 12104039 |
| 914.6/0481 19 | |
| LC Class | PR6023.E285 Z463 1985 |
| Preceded by | Cider with Rosie |
| Followed by | A Moment of War |
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969) is a memoir by Laurie Lee, a British poet. It is a sequel to Cider with Rosie which detailed his life in post First World War Gloucestershire. The author leaves the security of his Cotswold village in Gloucestershire to start a new life, at the same time embarking on an epic journey by foot.
It is 1934, and as a young man Lee walks to London from his Cotswolds home. He is to live by playing the violin and by labouring on a London building site. When this work draws to a finish, and having picked up the phrase in Spanish for 'Will you please give me a glass of water?', he decides to go to Spain. He scrapes together a living by playing his violin outside the street cafés, and sleeps at night in his blanket under an open sky or in cheap, rough posadas. For a year he tramps through Spain, from Vigo in the north to the south coast, where he is trapped by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.
Experiencing a Spain ranging from the utterly squalid to the utterly beautiful, Lee creates a story which evocatively captures the spirit and atmosphere of the towns and countryside he passes through in his own distinctive semi-poetic style. He is warmly welcomed by the Spaniards he meets and enjoys a generous hospitality even from the poorest villagers he encounters along the way.
In 1934 Laurie Lee leaves his home in Gloucestershire for London. He visits Southampton and it is here that he first tries his luck at playing his violin in the streets. His apprenticeship proves profitable and he decides to move eastwards. Lee makes his way along the south coast and then turns inland and heads north for London. He meets up with his American girlfriend, Cleo, who is the daughter of an American anarchist.
Cleo's father finds him a job as a labourer and he is able to rent a room. However, he has to move on as his room is taken over by a prostitute. He lives in London for almost a year as part of a gang of wheelbarrow pushers. Once the building nears completion, he knows that his time is up and decides to go to Spain because he knows the phrase in Spanish for "Will you please give me a glass of water?".
He lands in Galicia in July 1935. Joining up with a group of three young German musicians, he accompanies them around Vigo and then they split up outside Zamora. By August 1935 Lee reaches Toledo, where he has a meeting with the South African poet Roy Campbell and his family, whom he comes across while playing his violin. They invite him to stay in their house.
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Wikipedia