Prewd and Prejudice – A Norfolk exile

When Miriam Prewd left polite London society for the depths of rural Norfolk, she was shocked at what she found. The year was 1904, but St Just-near-Trunch was only half-civilised. Plants grew unchecked, unruly birds woke her before dawn, there was not a milliner for miles and Harrods flatly refused to deliver.

Despite all these intolerable hardships, she selflessly undertook a one-year, one-woman mission to bring refinement and manners to the village. Would she succeed or would she ‘go native’ like the vicar? Would she win the hand of the dashing Doyley Silver-Darling or would she succumb to the rustic charms of three-legged Albert Kipper?

From All Idiots’ Day to Old Soaks’ Day, Mrs Prewd’s diary reveals a rich tapestry of country customs. She encounters June Pole Dancing, the Pedants’ Revolt, the Valentine’s tradition of exchanging embroidered underwear, the Trans-Norfolk Highway and the ancient monument at Flinthenge, and much more. And she fails to understand nearly all of it.

How fortunate, then, that Sid Kipper, native of St Just-near-Trunch, is able to guide us through the strange goings-on she describes.

‘… half a dozen good throwaway lines per page, and it should remind you of Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, with a dash of Flann O’Brien. Best read drunk.’
– The Guardian

‘A trip along the Trans-Norfolk Highway to the nearest bookshop in search of Prewd and Prejudice is strongly recommended.’
– Eastern Daily Press