The Hilltop Writers: A Victorian Colony Among the Surrey Hills

When a railway line opened in 1859, cutting through the hills of south-west Surrey on its way from London to Portsmouth, it presented an enticing new possibility. Now professional people could choose to live among heather-covered hilltops, with their wide views and wholesome air, while still having access to the facilities of the capital, only an hour and a half away by train from Haslemere. Many did so, following the example of the poet laureate himself, Alfred, Lord Tennyson. In this book...