“He loved the brook's soft sound, The swallow swimming by. He loved the daisy-covered ground, The cloud-bedappled sky.” – John Clare (1793 – 1864) The Batsford Book of Country Verse is a selection of English poetry that emphasises the affinity for the countryside shared by English poets of all eras. The poets included reach from the sixteenth century, beginning with William Shakespeare, Robert Herrick and John Milton, and continue up to the twentieth century poets such as Ted Hughes and John Betjeman.   Ronald Stuart Thomas (1913 – 2000), born in Cardiff, was a poet and an Anglican priest. Many of his poems focus on the difficulties of rural existence, set against the bleak and forbidding landscape of Wales. Published by B.T. Batsford  in 1961. First Edition. Good condition. Binding intact. With dustjacket.