{"product_id":"one-fine-day-9781912836994","title":"One Fine Day","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA time-travelling, genealogical adventure, \u003cbr\u003ebringing pre-industrial, rural, eighteenth-century England vividly to life on\u003cbr\u003ethe page.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne day Ian Marchant, acclaimed author of books\u003cbr\u003eon music, railways and pubs\u003cem\u003e, \u003c\/em\u003e decided, as all\u003cbr\u003emen of a certain age must, to have a dig around his family history.\u003cbr\u003eSurprisingly quickly, a web search informed him that his seven-times-great\u003cbr\u003egreat-grandfather, Thomas Marchant had left a detailed diary from 1714 to 1728.\u003cbr\u003eSo far, so jolly ... \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLife-loving diarist Thom - who liked a drink and a game of cards - feels\u003cbr\u003erecognisably Marchant to Ian. With fascinating detail we learn about Thom's\u003cbr\u003efamily farm and fishponds; about dung, horses and mud; about beer, the wife's\u003cbr\u003enights out, his own job troubles and their shared worries for their children.\u003cbr\u003eBut as Ian digs deeper beyond the Sussex diary's bucolic portrait he discovers\u003cbr\u003ea subtext - a family descended from immigrants, with anti-establishment\u003cbr\u003epolitics, who are struggling with illness, political instability and cash\u003cbr\u003ecrises - just as their country does three centuries on. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e'When I was reflecting late one January evening\u003cbr\u003eon the differences between Thom and me, I realised the unbridgeable thing that\u003cbr\u003ecomes between us is industrialisation. He lived right at its beginning, while I\u003cbr\u003eam living somewhere towards its end. Old Thom Marchant was one of the last\u003cbr\u003epeople before industrialisation to understand how his world worked - and how to\u003cbr\u003ebe largely self-sufficient in it. He knew where his food came from, his fuel, \u003cbr\u003ehis water, his clothes. He knew how the welfare system worked, and was part of\u003cbr\u003eits administration; he knew who looked after the roads, too. He collected\u003cbr\u003etaxes. He was not separate from the system, but part of it.'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRich with immersive detail, \u003cem\u003eOne Fine Day\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003edraws a living portrait of Marchant family life in the 1720s and how their\u003cbr\u003eEngland (rainy, muddy, politically turbulent, illness-ridden) became the\u003cbr\u003eEngland of the 2020s. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIan Marchant has worked for\u003cbr\u003etwenty-five years as a writer, broadcaster and performer. His non-fiction books\u003cbr\u003einclude \u003ci\u003eParallel Lines\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Longest Crawl\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Hero for High\u003cbr\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e, which was long-listed for the Gordon Burn Prize. Ian has presented\u003cbr\u003enumerous broadcasts for Radio 3 and Radio 4, in particular on psycho-geography\u003cbr\u003eand contemporary rural affairs. He is an intermittent presenter on Radio 4's\u003cbr\u003elong-running \u003ci\u003eOpen Country\u003c\/i\u003e, and a regular diarist for the \u003ci\u003eChurch Times\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003eHe has written for the \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eDaily\u003cbr\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e. He has made numerous appearances as\u003cbr\u003ea guest speaker, compere, quizmaster and lounge singer, and is also a creative\u003cbr\u003ewriting tutor and guest speaker for the Arvon Foundation. He lives in\u003cbr\u003ePresteigne with his family.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"September Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50389924020498,"sku":"9781912836994","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_032b8db1-38c7-4d72-b7db-bb351fc0ae50.jpg?v=1728933318","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/one-fine-day-9781912836994","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}