From the Revd Roy Shaw
Sir, - Deborah Alun-Jones's article (
Features, 3 May) did much to dispel arcadian views of rectory
life in times past, but it is to be hoped that her book from which
the piece was extracted is edited a little more fastidiously than
the article itself.
Francis Kilvert lived wholly in the 19th century, and there is a
case for considering Sydney Smith as 19th- century, too; his first
book was published in 1800, and he did not edit The Edinburgh
Review until 1802. (Both Kilvert and Smith are referred to as
"18th-century".)
Finally, Haworth was never in North Yorkshire; in the Brontës'
day it was in the West Riding, and is today resolutely in West
Yorkshire.
ROY SHAW
32 Westfield Road, Tockwith
York YO26 7PY