Author's Note. List of illustrations. Introduction. 'Laura' goes Further. To Grayshott. 'The Hertfords'. 'Alma Stedman'. 'Eminent People'. 'The Wind on the Heath'. 'Mr Foreshaw'. 'The Jeromes'. The Businesses of 'Heatherley'. 'Richard & Mavis'. Living Alone. Leaving 'Heatherley'. A Village Murder. Illustrations. 'Edmund'. To Liphook. 'Postie'. Post-war Pilgrimage. The Latecomer. John Thompson. 'The Postmistress Poet'. Nature Notes. Australian Saga. To Griggs Green. Farewell to 'Peverel'. Fame at the End. From the Archives. Flora's Trail, and other walks.
John Owen Smith was born in 1942 and trained as a Chemical Engineer at London University, but spent most of his working life designing commercial Information Systems for the paper-making industry. Following redundancy, he 'fell' into researching and recording the local history of east Hampshire, where he now lives. His output includes historical community plays, lectures, articles and books.
Graham Collyer - Editor-Surrey Advertiser - all editions 5 Dec 1997 - Searching deep into the soul of Flora Thompson "This is a delightful book that goes behind the scenes, as it were, of the author of 'Lark Rise to Candleford'. It is aptly sub-titled 'Beyond Candleford Green'. "John Owen Smith is making something of a name for himself as a local historian in the Surrey-Hampshire border area of Hindhead and beyond. This book will enhance his standing. "Flora Thompson, who died 50 years ago aged 70, was 21 when she arrived in Grayshott to work in the post office. She took lodgings in the then small village and observed the comings and goings of the populace, which included such eminent people as George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Conan Doyle, who both lived locally. "And it is the thoroughness of Conan Doyle's alter ego Sherlock Holmes that has enabled John Owen Smith to search deep into the soul of Flora, whose marriage to John Thompson took her away from Grayshott but later brought them back to nearby Liphook, where she remained until her final move to South Devon, in 1928. "Whether or not you know anything of Flora Thompson, this is a fascinating read with descriptions of some lovely walks amid the heather and the woods of Hindhead and district." Colin Dunne - Downs Country - January/February 1998 - Lark Rise to Liphook? "Every country-lover knows (and usually loves) 'Lark Rise to Candleford', that evocative tale of childhood in rural Oxfordshire a century ago. But few of those readers know that Flora Thompson spent much of her life on the Surrey-Hampshire border, initially working in Grayshott post office, and later as a wife and mother in nearby Liphook. "John Owen Smith, publisher as well as author, has done a marvellous research job in unveiling her life during these years - what makes his story all the more interesting is that he takes his readers with him through his exhaustive enquiries and interviews, so that at times it has the suspense of a 'who-dunnit'. "Who was the racy big-game hunter with whom she took tea? And Mr Brownlow, the young man who could never marry her? Join Mr Owen Smith on the trail and you find out. "In addition, it is beautifully illustrated with old photographs and even suggested walks in Flora's footsteps. A lovely book." Mrs Jean Gaitely - Root & Branch, Magazine of the West Surrey Family History Society, December 1997 "As a resident of Grayshott, until recently, for some twenty-five years I feel rather ashamed to admit that although I have heard of Flora Thompson, I have not read her 'Lark Rise to Candleford'. I am certainly going to read it now. "May 1997 was the 50th anniversary of Flora's death, and September 1998 will see the centenary of her arrival in Grayshott, so now is an appropriate time to publish this book which gives a further insight into her life, and includes some hitherto unpublished articles and Flora's own drafts of others. "Mr Smith's fascinating tribute to this lady will be compulsive reading to anyone who has a knowledge of Flora Thompson's writing and also to anyone who knows the lovely corner of East Hampshire of which she writes. "From the genealogist's point of view it is interesting to see how the author has been able to discover fairly conclusively the real identity of some of the people of whom Flora writes." Tom Quinn - The Countryman - High Summer Issue, Aug/Sept 1998 "John Owen Smith's self-published 'On the Trail of Flora Thompson' describes, among other things, how Flora Thompson met Conan Doyle and George Bernard Shaw at various stages in her career and used their characters in her work. I'm not sure about the wisdom of breaking the main text of the book up with blocks of unrelated text in boxes, but there is much new material here for Thompson fans." AW - This England - Summer 1998 "The name Flora Thompson is synonymous with the 'Lark Rise to Candleford' trilogy which vividly describes growing up in a north Oxfordshire village at the end of the 19th century. It is widely assumed that the story of "Laura", Flora's auto-biographical character, ended on the last page of 'Candleford Green'. However, as this book proves, there was a literary life after Candleford for both Flora and Laura. "Even though it was not published until many years after her death, in 1947, Flora did write a sequel to 'Candleford Green', entitled 'Heatherley', but rather mysteriously did not submit it to a publisher. The abandoned typescript, which she had completed in 1944, was eventually included in the 1979 publication 'A Country Calendar and Other Writings'. "'Heatherley' follows Laura's experiences after she leaves north Oxfordshire for a new life in Hampshire. Just like her character, Flora had moved to Hampshire - to the village of Grayshott - where she worked as sub-office assistant to the postmaster for two years. During this time, she would have encountered such renowned writers as George Bernard Shaw and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle when they came into what was then their local post office. "The text features a good selection of black and white photographs, illustrations and maps which all bring Flora Thompson's story to life. The author documents village events of Flora's day, which she then went on to weave into Laura's story, and also mentions aspects of life in Grayshott which Flora decided not to feature in 'Heatherley'. "For the reader who likes the opportunity to seek out literary locations on foot, there are several walks along 'Flora's Trail' which are described in detail.
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