Every time I drive to or from Sussex I pass a sign that says 'Juniper Hill Single Track Road'. I've always known that Juniper Hill was the real name of the hamlet of Lark Rise in Flora Thompson's trilogy 'Lark Rise', 'Candleford Green' and 'Over to Candleford. These tell the story of her rural childhood in Oxfordshire in the 1870's and 80's. For anyone interested in family history who discovers a long line of 'ag labs' among their ancestry, this will give a true picture of the hard lives that they lived. Hard does not necessarily translate as miserable or unhappy though, their pleasures were simple and few by our standards today but in many ways they were happier and more contented I think.
http://circleoftheyear.blogspot.com/2007/06/lark-rise-to-candleford.html

 

"Oh dear! Whoever asked Bill Gallagher to adapt Flora Thomson's Lark Rise to Candleford for the BBC forgot to tell him to read the trilogy first I watched the first episode, screened last night but, apart from a few names, there was nothing bearing any resemblance to the book I love so much. We had been warned that characters and events had been 'extended' for the sake of dramatic effect, but 'invented' would have been a more accurate description."

"The BBC production of Lark Rise to Candleford may prove to be a pleasant way to while away an hour on a Sunday evening if all you want is a little costume drama but, whatever you do, don't confuse it with the book of the same name.'

About the Author
Born in Juniper Hill, Oxfordshire, Flora Thompson left school at 14 to work in the local post office. She married young, and wrote mass-market fiction to help support her increasing family. In her 60s she published the semi-autobiographical trilogy combined as LARK RISE TO CANDLEFORD (1945)