A biography of the bard of rural England reveals an unexpectedly adventurous sex life

Ronald Blythe is most acclaimed for Akenfield, his 1969 portrait of an English village from the late 19th century onwards. Latterly, the saintly author, who lived hermit-like in a remote farmhouse, was revered for his poetic, and profound writing about rural life. In several million published words, Ronnie – as he was affectionately known – could be personal but never revealed his relationships or anything remotely raunchy.

So it is unexpected to find this definitive biography, which spans the 10 decades of Blythe’s life, fairly steaming with sex. There are early adventures in a haystack; “some of the best sex ever” with fellow second world war conscripts; seduction by a jeweller from Bath in a Cornish field lit by glowworms; and casual assignations with everyone from a “blonde Adonis” of a civil servant to a notoriously slothful 21-stone rector.