The Story of My Heart, 1883

CHAPTER I: THE STORY OF MY HEART [published Oct. 1883] commences seventeen years ago. In the glow of youth there were times every now and then when I felt the necessity of a strong inspiration of soul thought. My heart was dusty, parched for want of the rain of deep feeling; my mind arid and dry, for there is a dust which settles on the heart as well as that which falls on a ledge. ... When this began to form I felt eager to escape from it, to throw off the heavy clothing, to drink deeply once more at the fresh fountains of life. An inspiration―a long deep breath of the pure air of thought―could alone give health to the heart. There is a hill [Liddington] to which I used to resort at such periods. The labour of walking three miles to it, all the while gradually ascending, seemed to clear my blood of the heaviness accumulated at home. On a warm summer day the slow continued rise required continual effort, which carried away the sense of oppression.... I began to breathe a new air and to have a fresher aspiration. ... Moving up the sweet short turf, at every step my heart seemed to obtain a wider horizon of feeling; with every inhalation of rich pure air, a deeper desire. The very light of the sun was whiter and more brilliant here. By the time I had reached the summit I had entirely forgotten the petty circumstances and the annoyances of existence. I felt myself, myself.

Video/Audio

PLEASE NOTE: The videos are linked to external websites over which there is no control. 

Apologies if the advertisements spoil your viewing.   

'Jefferies Land' film about Richard Jefferies and his Coate home was made by the late John Webb in 2001. The film is 23 minutes long and can be viewed here.


'Richard Jefferies: Nature Writer and Mystic'. An illustrated lecture given by Andrew Rossabi (President of the Richard Jefferies Society) to the School of Philosophy in August 2023. Andrew gives a brief but informative glimpse into the life and writings of Richard Jefferies and highlights why the writer deserves to be better known today.  The Lecture is nearly an hour long and can be viewed here.

'The Man on the Hill' is a two-part tribute to Richard Jefferies broadcast in 1987. Readings by Paul Scofield.   Watch Part One.    Watch Part Two. 


A Tribute to Richard Jefferies was made by the Film Production Unit of Swindon Public Library Film Society in 1948. It runs for about 15 minutes, there is no sound-track and shows shots of Coate and the surrounding area that illustrate Jefferies' works set around his birthplace and home. 

Film shot at the Richard Jefferies Museum on 25 May 2010.

Richard Jefferies Coate  'Points West' recorded this film about the Coate area in the late summer of 2006. Amanda Parr was fronting a series about West Country authors. John Price, Chair of the Richard Jefferies Society, guided her around Coate Water, talked about Bevis, and then the Richard Jefferies Museum. 

The Old House at Coate  Dr Mike Pringle, the Director of the Richard Jefferies Museum Trust was invited to give an illustrated talk about the work of the Trust and a tour of the Museum and grounds on 7 May 2022. 

'All Aglow' -  An orchestral folk adventure by Robinton Hobbs inspired by the opening chapter of Bevis with video footage of Coate Water and Coate Farm. Only about 4 minutes long. 

A SELECTION OF AUDIO RECORDINGS

The Drift of Time - Radio play based on the writings of Richard Jefferies. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 31 July 1987 (40 minutes long) as part of the centenary tributes that year. Richard Jefferies is played by Robert Stephens.

Four extracts of nature writing by Jefferies: the first from his essay 'Wild Flowers'; the second from the opening passage of The Story of My Heart, the third: 'A Summer Day in Savernake Forest' and the fourth from Amaryllis at the Fair. They are read here by Sir Simon Russell Beale as part of an online initiative by the Marlborough Literary Festival during the lockdown of 2020.


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