The Country Parson.

Here are three excellent additions to the library of anyone interested in the history of the Church of England as it affects village life.

The deserted village is the diary of the Revd James Newton, rector of Nuneham Courtenay, just south of Oxford, from 1736 to 1786. The manuscript of the diary, which is in the Bodleian, covers the period from January 1759 to March 1760 and from April 1761 to April 1762 and is here transcribed in full. It is beautifully produced with a number of maps and illustrations which help to illuminate the text. Gavin Hannah provides an extremely helpful introduction and the notes are exemplary. There is a biographical index of Newton's acquaintances which will be a great help to the more general reader. It has to be said, however, …