Smoke in the Lanes

Full of stories of life on the road, this is the classic account of life as a Gypsy in the 1950s, when Travelers lived in horse-drawn wagons and parked by the wayside in quiet country lanes. Included are descriptions of colorful characters living for the present despite constant harassment by police and suspicious landowners. Vividly brought to life are the close feelings of Travelers for the family, their sense of being outsiders, and their eagerness to better themselves by barter and trade. The illustrations and use of the Travelers' form of Romani help make this a vivid portrayal of a vanished way of life.

Dominic Reeve is notoriously secretive and his true name and personal details about his past have never been publicly disclosed. Beshlie, his wife, is the illustrator. Their books, which are considered to be the most accurate account of the evolving life of English Gypsies (Romanichal), include No Place Like Home and Whichever Way We Turn.