Our Villages of Southern England tour continues to draw near (80 days until we leave! Yes!!!), so we're expanding our prep work. I am currently loving "Vanishing Cornwall" by Daphne du Maurier - yes, the author of "Rebecca" and "Jamaica Inn." She and her husband actually spent a lot of time in Cornwall, and the book is illustrated with photographs taken by their son. There are chapters on geography, history, "eccentrics", superstitions... I'm not done with the book yet, but I think as soon as I finish I'm going to turn back to page 1 and start all over again! There's a great passage describing John Wesley's missionary work in Cornwall that had my Methodist DH first nodding his head in agreement, then laughing out loud.
Highly recommended. Very readable, both informative and entertaining.