On My Mind: The Pastoral Tradition and Its Problems
I am constantly amazed by the staying power of the pastoral tradition that imagines the country as a place where carefree shepherds tend their flocks in an idyllic landscape. The…
Read moreThe Sustainable Life in Rural Spain? Arribes and Arcadia
In my last post, I talked about the elite dream of Arcadia, a beautiful, peaceful land, close to nature and far from the pressures of city and political life. It’s…
Read moreArcadia: The Elite Dream of Happiness
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about Arcadia recently, partly as the result of reading Adam Nicolson’s Earls of Paradise: England and the Dream of Perfection (2008). It describes the…
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