A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr

1 northerners vs. southerners: for some idea of the north-south divide in the UK, browse through a few of the following

32 Yorkshire pudding: bun-shaped (with a dip in the middle) British food made from batter that goes with a roast, usually eaten for Sunday dinner

34 Tess: main character from Thomas Hardy's famous novel Tess of the d'Ubervilles published in 1891.

40 Bannister-Fletcher: Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture, an essential reference book on architecture

43 Gladstone bag: designed in the late 1800s, it is a leather bag with structured frame that has two large compartments; see links below for some pictures

64 Passchendaele: a village in Belgium and site of an important and devastating battle during World War I

70 White Horse: the Kilburn White Horse is a large cut figure on a hill in North Yorkshire that is filled in with pebbles and whitewashed

70 Great Ebor Handicap: a famous horserace in York that takes place in August, began in 1843

Study Questions

Consider Birkin’s arrival at Oxgodby and his arrival at the church. If the former makes him feel like entering “enemy country” (1), how does coming face to face with this “off-the-peg job” make him feel (2)? How does the language of the old man and the stationmaster on one hand, and the language of masonry on the other affect the narrator? the reader?
Though the stationmaster’s “I hope it’s there” gives the impression of uncertainty, Birkin’s discovery of the church and its interior is “by and large…what [he]’d guessed it might be” (3). How does the narrator’s detection compare to Moon’s “Why, I saw at once what was here” (17)? If “he knew exactly where he’d find the grave” (18) and Birkin “knew it [the hidden mural] was a Judgment” (10), what are the two experts doing in Oxgodby?
Birkin says, “I never exchanged a word with the Colonel” (20), and if “he has no significance at all in what happened during my stay in Oxgodby,” why is he mentioned in the novel at all?
How are characters introduced? What difference, if any, is there between first impressions and later acquaintance? What parallels or contrasts are there in Birkin’s perceptions regarding people and his readings of paintings?
Birkin’s phrase “for a time” punctuates the description of how his job has created for him a nice reality within the church and makes his life outside in the town a dream (31). What punctures this comfortable picture?
Read the visit to Emily Clough (pp. 34–36) closely. Why does Carr include it in the story? How is the episode told? What do you think of the way Kathy suggests the idea: “Let’s call and see Emily Clough; she’s dying of consumption…We can give her the cornflowers Edgar’s picked for Mam”? How does Kathy talk about Emily and her illness? How does Emily herself handle her illness? What effect do Emily’s statements (such as “I’ve heard about you,” “Who was there today?” and “I like your straw hat, Kathy. Let me try it on.”) have against her condition and her physical description? What is the point of the eye contact between Emily and Birkin at the end of the passage? What point of connection might there be between this girl and this man?
Compare the three house visits given in quick succession: Sunday dinner with the Ellerbecks, visiting Emily Clough, and calling at the Keaches' vicarage. How is the narrator greeted at each? What tone does he use in describing the interior and what takes place there? How does he portray himself while there?
Approaching Reverend Keach’s house, Tom Birkin calls the surroundings a garden, making it sound even Edenic (36). Once at the house, how does he portray the building and its effect on him and the Keaches?
What link does Birkin reach for in sympathizing with Alice Keach’s account of her horrifying nightmare (38)?

Tom Birkin – the narrator; about twenty-five years old (4); "nerves shot to pieces, wife gone, dead broke" (22); conscript (75);