I’ve stayed with ‘Summer Holidays with Nature’ for another post because I so like the clean writing and presentation and the great balance of clarity and detail which is offered to the child reader. There is solid, unpatronising information which I find so satisfying.
‘A Fortnight in September’ by R.C. Sherriff .
I wanted also to mention this novel because it left a strong visual impression on me when I read it. Sherriff is, of course, much better known for ‘Journey’s End’ but this relatively early novel from 1931 captures the experience of a family holiday at the seaside. It captures a very specific holiday experience that of going to the same place every year with the same rituals and how behaviours slip back and alter in that context.
Persephone Books have reissued it in a handsome copy.
The Solitary Reader 