May Day: The Coming of Spring

The close-up on the cover of the red, white, and black Padstow horse's mask is set off by the scarlet endpapers, and a potential buyer must become a curious one upon turning to the extraordinary figure facing the title page. There are many colour photographs, all first class, as one would expect from this author, and a few old black-and-whites by Henry Taunt, with people lined up, almost standing to attention. The range is wide, from the Penny Hedge at Whitby, 'this most discreet and gentle of ceremonies', to Cheese Rolling on Cooper's Hill, 'the maddest and most dangerous ceremony in the May calendar'.