Originally published in 1926, this book is a fascinating account of life in England from the mid-nineteenth century to the early 1920s as experienced by the classicist and academic W. E. Heitland. Much of the text focuses on Heitland's time in Cambridge, first as an undergraduate and later as an academic, and the challenges the university experienced as a result of the introduction of women and the events of the First World War. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of the University of Cambridge or in the history of Britain in the early twentieth century.

William Emerton Heitland (1847 1935) was a Cambridge classicist, who was described as having 'a passionate desire to attain the truth'. His most distinguished work, Agricola, published in 1921, is a detailed study of agricultural labour in classical times. He makes use of a wide range of sources, from Homer in the eighth century BCE to Apollinaris Sidonius in the fifth century CE. In asking the question, by whom and under what conditions was the work done, he deals with land tenure, taxation, military service and political theory. He argues that changes in agricultural production were necessarily connected to changes in other areas of society. To a large extent, classical agriculture was based on slavery, and even those who were free tenants had limited legal rights. Roman poets such as Virgil idealised the pastoral life, but may not reflect reality. It is an important sourcebook for social and economic history.

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