Sussex Gorse: The Story of a Fight

In Short

Set in nineteenth-century rural Sussex, Sussex Gorse: The Story of a Fight details Reuben Backfield’s single-minded quest to conquer Boarzell Moor, an unyielding expanse of harsh gorse and heather. Inheriting his father's modest farm, Odiam, Reuben envisions turning the stubborn wilderness into golden fields of wheat. Over sixty years, his monomania exacts a staggering human toll: his marriages crumble, his children flee or are broken by his relentless tyranny, and his neighbors are ruined. Yet Reuben never falters in his crusade. Sheila Kaye-Smith’s regional masterpiece endures as a stark study of rural determination, elemental struggle, and the terrifying cost of an unbending ambition.

The Story

The struggle begins in October 1835 on Boarzell Moor, a wild piece of Sussex earth marked by gaunt, wind-bitten firs and thick gorse. While his easygoing father remains content with Odiam's modest sixty acres, fifteen-year-old Reuben Backfield conceives a fierce vision: he will purchase Boarzell acre by acre, tear up its gorse, and transform the barren waste into the greatest grain farm in Sussex. His father dies shortly after, leaving Reuben at the helm, free to pursue his grand enterprise.

Early on, the land exacts blood. During an effort to clear ground, a gunpowder explosion leaves Reuben's brother Harry disfigured and mentally impaired. Rather than faltering, Reuben views the incident as a ritual sacrifice to a vindictive enemy. He courts and marries Naomi, a timid young woman who brings order to the household but suffers under the increasing austerity Reuben demands to fund his land purchases. When the repeal of the Corn Laws threatens grain prices, Reuben adapts with bitter resolve, manuring every yard of soil and stripping away flower gardens for rows of cabbages. Naomi dies exhausted after bearing him several children, but Reuben barely pauses to grieve, focusing instead on squeezing maximum labor from his growing sons.

As the years pass, Reuben’s tyranny alienated his family. His son Albert, a sensitive boy who writes poetry, is abused for wasting time; his son Richard secretly studies Latin with a neighbor, Anne Bardon, before escaping to London to pursue a legal career. Other children flee or suffer under their father's unyielding thumb. Robert turns to crime to escape and disappears; Tilly flees an unwanted life; Peter remains behind as a hardened, brutalized farmhand.

Reuben takes a second wife, the city-minded Rose Lardner, hoping for beauty and companionship. But their marriage is marred by conflict over money, his ongoing obsession with Boarzell, and her eventual infidelity and departure. Even as domestic ruin surrounds him, Reuben expands his borders, buying out ruined neighbors like the Realfs of Grandturzel and outmaneuvering local rivals.

In his old age, Reuben stands alone. His younger sons go off to fight in the South African War, leaving the ancient farmer to walk his vast fields with an ash stick, feared by locals who view him as a pitiless, solitary tyrant. When a catastrophic fire sparked by damp hay destroys his farm buildings, Reuben remains unbroken, using the crisis to force his widowed, kneeling daughter Tilly and her son into submission to secure the remaining parcels of land.

Finally, as an old man, Reuben stands atop the crest of Boarzell. The gorse is burnt, the firs cleared, and the dark moor replaced by rolling fields stretching to the horizon. Having sacrificed every human tie, he looks out over his conquered dominion, convinced that his lifelong fight against the earth was worth every casualty.

How It Unfolds

The challenge accepted Reuben Backfield gazes out over the dark expanse of Boarzell Moor and vows to conquer its barren clay and thick gorse. Despising his father's passive contentment, he resolves to turn Odiam into the largest farm in Sussex, no matter the cost.

The first blood shed A gunpowder explosion during land-clearing leaves Reuben's brother Harry severely injured and shattered in mind. Reuben views the horror not as a tragedy to halt his progress, but as Boarzell demanding its first victim in a long battle.

A home stripped bare Reuben marries the gentle Naomi, but his relentless drive to buy land turns their domestic life into a regime of harsh economy. He digs up the family flower garden for cabbages, covers the yard in manure, and works his wife until her early death.

The rebellion of the sons As Reuben’s sons grow, they resist his iron rule in different ways. Albert is beaten for writing verses, while Richard secretly educates himself with the help of a neighbor and escapes to London, leaving Reuben furious but undeterred.

A second ruined household Reuben marries Rose Lardner, but his obsession with land and money quickly poisons the relationship. After bitter squabbles, financial disappointments, and escalating marital warfare, Rose eventually abandons him, leaving Reuben more isolated than ever.

The destruction of Grandturzel Improperly dried hay leads to a fiery blaze that consumes Odiam's outbuildings, but Reuben turns the disaster into a victory. He blames his opponent Realf, ruthlessly stripping his ruined relatives of their remaining land to complete his empire.

Triumph on the crest Now an old man devoid of family or friends, Reuben walks to the summit of what was once Boarzell Moor. Looking out over his vast, cultivated domain, he declares his victory over the wilderness complete and well worth the sacrifice.

The People

• Reuben Backfield: The central figure whose life is defined by a monomaniacal desire to conquer Boarzell Moor. Possessed of immense physical strength and an unbending will, he sacrifices his wives, children, and neighbors to turn the wild earth into productive farmland, ending his life victorious but entirely alone.
• Naomi Backfield: Reuben’s first wife, a gentle, timid woman who falls under his overpowering influence. She bears his older children and works herself to an early grave amidst the dirt, financial strain, and unrelenting demands of Odiam farm.
• Harry Backfield: Reuben’s handsome brother, whose life is ruined early by a land-clearing explosion. Left mentally incapacitated, he remains at Odiam as a broken, echoing shadow of his former self.
• Richard Backfield: Reuben’s sharp-minded son who despises his father's brutal lifestyle. Supported by Anne Bardon, he secretly educates himself and escapes the farm to build a successful career as a lawyer in London.
• Rose Lardner: Reuben’s second wife, a vain, city-oriented woman who expects comfort and affection. Her marriage to Reuben quickly devolves into explosive arguments over money and freedom, culminating in her eventual flight from the farm.
• Albert Backfield: A sensitive son who attempts to find solace in poetry and art. Crushed by Reuben’s violent contempt for anything unpractical, he suffers a complete mental and physical collapse in his adulthood.
• Tilly Realf (née Backfield): Reuben’s daughter who tries to escape her father's influence through marriage, only to be dragged back into his orbit when her father financially destroys her husband's family.

In Its Own Voice

"He, Reuben, would never be happy till he had torn up that gorse and lopped those firs from the top of Boarzell."

Reuben stands by his dead father's side, rejecting a comfortable life to pursue his obsession.

"I've won--and it's bin worth while. I've wanted a thing, and I've got it, surelye--and I äun't too old to enjoy it, nuther."

Standing on the summit of the conquered moor late in life, Reuben celebrates his hard-won victory over the land.

"'Tis old Mus' Backfield from Odiam farm by Peasmarsh. They say as he's a hard man."

Local cottagers observe the solitary, formidable old man who traded every human affection for his fields.

What It's Really About

At its core, Sussex Gorse is an unsparing study of fanatical ambition and the terrifying power of an untamed passion. Reuben Backfield's crusade against Boarzell Moor is presented not merely as a agricultural venture, but as a mythic duel between human resolve and elemental Nature. The novel asks whether a triumph achieved through the destruction of every human relationship can truly be called a victory, or if the conqueror ultimately becomes a prisoner of his own conquest. Kaye-Smith explores how obsession narrows a man's vision until wives, children, and morality become mere raw materials to be consumed by his single goal. The narrative demonstrates how the land, even when successfully tamed, exacts an absolute tribute in human soul and blood.

Why Read It Today

Sussex Gorse is an exceptional find for readers who appreciate sweeping regional sagas, deep environmental realism, and complex, unsympathetic protagonists. Sheila Kaye-Smith paints the Wealden landscape with extraordinary accuracy, capturing the tactile realities of nineteenth-century farming—from the stench of manure to the acrid smoke of burning gorse.

The book does present challenges for modern readers. Its pace is deliberately slow, mirroring the decade-spanning timeline of Reuben's life. The prose frequently incorporates thick Sussex dialect ("döan't", "surelye", "dunnamany"), which requires a small adjustment period to read smoothly. Furthermore, period attitudes toward women and domestic authority are presented with unvarnished, historical starkness; Reuben's brutal treatment of his family makes him a difficult character to like.

Yet what stays with you long after reading is the astonishing power of Kaye-Smith's characterization. Reuben Backfield is a towering creation—a antihero whose sheer vitality and unflinching determination demand awe even as his cruelty inspires revulsion. For anyone interested in classic British rural fiction alongside authors like Thomas Hardy, Sussex Gorse offers a magnificent, unforgettable depiction of one man's war against the earth.