After London. or Wild England

2017 Reprint of 1980 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. Originally published in 1885, Jefferies& 39;s novel can be seen as an early example of& 34;post-apocalyptic fiction& 34;. A sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature, and the few survivors to a quasi-medieval way of life. The book has two parts. The first,& 34;The Relapse into Barbarism& 34;, is the account by some later historian of the fall of civilization and its consequences, with a loving description of nature reclaiming England: fields becoming overrun by forest, domesticated animals running wild, roads and towns becoming overgrown, the hated London reverting to lake and poisonous swampland. The second part,& 34;Wild England& 34;, is largely a straightforward adventure set many years later in the wild landscape and society (here too Jefferies was setting an example for the genre); but the opening section, despite some improbabilities, has been much admired for its rigor and compelling narrative.