Small Talk at Wreyland. First Series

"Small Talk at Wreyland" by Cecil Torr is a collection of stories and thoughts, giving a peek into life in a small English village in the early 1900s. The author shares bits of local history, interesting traditions, and personal stories from Wreyland, a small spot in Devonshire. Torr’s writing is friendly, like listening to someone tell you about their home, which makes it interesting for anyone who likes learning about old customs and how people lived back then. He starts by thinking about how important it is to remember local stories because the older people who know them are passing away. He remembers happy times from when he was a kid, especially talking with his older family members who told him about things like when King Charles I was beheaded and the Great Fire of London. Torr also introduces us to people from his family, like his grandfather, and explains what they believed, what they did every day, and the customs of their time, setting a tone of looking back fondly at the past and mixing personal memories with bigger historical and cultural ideas.