Jefferies, Richard

jef'riz, Richard (1848-1887), an English essayist. He was a native of Wiltshire. He wrote several volumes of outdoor essays in which the reader may trace the delightful influence of Isaak Walton. He is to the British reader what John Burroughs is to the American. His writings are full of the keenest observations and make the reader feel as though he wanted to get away from town into unfrequented byways, field, and forest. The nature of his writing is indicated by the titles he chose: The Gamekeeper at Home, Wild Life in a Southern Country, Round About a Great Estate, The Life of the Fields, The Open Air, The Amateur Poacher, Wood Magic, Red Deer, and Field and Hedgerow. Several of his least successful volumes are novels.