The Quest of the Simple Life

William J. Dawson explains his escape from a mundane job and existence, into the countryside where he aims to live a life that is simpler and freer of hassles. Writing in the early 20th century, the author recounts his experience working as an office clerk in the city of London. Bored and unfulfilled by his daily life, he desires to move to the countryside and begin again in a rural setting. Dawson recounts his day to day life, his accounting job which is repetitive and allows for little creative thinking, and finally his loss of the job, which he is determined to make a blessing in disguise. Although the author's quandaries are familiar to the modern reader familiar with the maddening hysteria of working life, William Dawson's frank explanations of the practicalities behind this vision breath life into his story. The process of finding and restoring a home in the country, of resettling his family, and of becoming used to the customs and culture of the pastoral landscape is recounted.