Indie Bookshop Week: Penguin authors celebrate their favourites

indie-authors.jpg

Features

Independent Bookshop Week: Penguin authors celebrate their favourites

A Natural History

England

' A brilliant gift for anyone who loves the countryside' - Independent 
 
''This extraordinarily fine writer tours England with an eye for every living thing. A work of beauty, deeply informed, a fantastic gift.' - Saga 
 
'A masterpiece' - Daily Mail 
 
'Britain's finest nature writer' - Telegraph 
 
'Full of evocative detail, this celebration of nature and place is bursting with historical details and lyrical observations of wildlife and landscape.' - Countryfile magazine 
 
‘What we have here is the best of John Lewis-Stempel and the best of his vision of England.' - The Tablet 
 
‘That John Lewis-Stempel is one of the best nature writers of his generation is undisputed.’ – Country Life 
 
 
----- 
Now in paperback, with map and illustrations, England: A Natural History is the definitive volume on the English landscape and the capstone of John Lewis-Stempel's nature writing. 
 
The English countryside is iconic: a series of distinctive habitats that unite to create a landscape that is unique for the rich diversity of our flora and fauna. In England, his most magisterial book to date, John Lewis-Stempel explores each in turn, taking us from coast to moor, from downs to field, from the park to the village to create a vivid living portrait of our natural history. 
 
In his trademark lyrical prose, Lewis-Stempel reveals the hidden workings of each habitat: the clear waters and dragonflies; the bluebells, badgers and stag beetles; wild thyme; granite cliffs; rock pools and sandy beaches; red deer standing at ancient oaks; the wayside flowers of the lane; hedgehogs and hares; and snow on the high peak. Each landscape - be it calm green or wild moor, plunging cliff or flatland fen - has shaped our idea of ourselves, our sense of what it is to be in England. 
 
In a stunning package, complete with decorated boards, endpapers, chapterheads and a map, England: A Natural History is the definitive volume on the English landscape and the capstone of John Lewis-Stempel's nature writing.

By our very finest nature writer ... a pastoral symphony, a masterpiece, and a very English love letter.

In an age when it seems that nothing has been left unscathed by our bulldozing technological advances, John Lewis-Stempel offers a breath of fresh (and natural) air.

It is now expected of the modern nature writer to draw together landscape, wildlife, history and culture, but few – if any – do it as deftly as Lewis-Stempel does here … There is still a place for this kind of assured and expert countryside writing. Not just a place, but acres of room.

BOOK OF THE MONTH: erudite and highly informative …packed with humorous, quirky details…a brilliant gift for anyone who loves the countryside.

Full of evocative detail, this celebration of nature and place is bursting with historical details and lyrical observations of wildlife and landscape.

He combines Jefferies’s way of looking closely with W. H. Hudson’s wide-roaming curiosity. That he champions them and the likes of ‘BB’ and the Revd Gilbert White in these pages is no surprise. All of them, like the author, were true country souls. This is a book to sit on the shelf beside theirs and not be overshadowed.

This extraordinarily fine writer tours England with an eye for every living thing. A work of beauty, deeply informed, a fantastic gift.

What we have here is the best of John Lewis-Stempel and the best of his vision of England.

A richly enjoyable treasure trove for any nature lover. Gilbert White for the 21st century.

No-one comes close to Lewis-Stempel’s ability to paint the English landscape in words. Maddeningly brilliant.

Sally Coulthard, author of A Brief History of the Countryside in 100 Objects

Lewis-Stempel is the most splendid company as he stomps and meanders through England. He's congenial, lyrical, unsentimental and smart, with a rare eye both for the big picture and the tiny, telling detail. Marvellous!

Charles Foster, author of Cry of the Wild

The book I've been waiting for, by my favourite contemporary nature writer. John Lewis-Stempel is that rarest of breeds, a writer on nature who is fully immersed in the natural world. England is a treasure from start to finish.

No other writer comes close to Stempel’s mixture of down-to-earth practical observation, playful lyricism, and sheer delight in the endless variety of our English countryside.

Christopher Somerville, author of Ships of Heaven and Walking the Bones of Britain

With charm, patient observation and the gift of beautiful words, John Lewis-Stempel braids history, science and folklore, revealing how English habitats have been formed by the interplay of nature and the human hand. England is a loving call to experience afresh the worlds-within-worlds on our doorstep.

[Prof.] Jonathan Drori [CBE] Author of Around the World in 80 Trees and Around the World in 80 Plants

It is rare indeed to find a writer who combines deep knowledge with such acute sensitivity to the power of words. England reads like a masterclass in how to look and listen – and it’s a wonderfully uplifting evocation of the treasures to be had if we attend to those things.

Edward Stourton, broadcaster and author of Confessions, Cruel Crossing and Auntie's War

England draws you into its folds and flow, into the streams, estuaries, and woodlands it evokes, with an almost incantatory power. It’s a book about nature, but also about the art of noticing, writing, precision, and cadence — from an author at the absolute height of his powers.

Sophy Roberts, author of Lost Pianos of Siberia

John Lewis-Stempel is simply the best. If England is truly to be the swansong of his extraordinary career (can somebody please, please ask him to reconsider?) then I cannot think of a more wonderful ending. It is lyrical, witty, companionable, knowledgeable, insightful, gripping, detailed, moving and beautiful. In short it is perfect nature writing from an undisputed master.

Tom Moorhouse, author of Elegy for a River and Ghosts in the Hedgerow

In his distinctive lyrical prose the nation’s finest living nature writer explores the many different habitats to be found in the English countryside, and its rich diversity of flora and fauna. From bluebells to badgers and rock pools to beaches, all of England’s natural life is here – and exquisitely described.

A fine new piece of nature writing… … richly informed and beautifully written.

In many ways, John Lewis Stempel is the doyen of nature writers. The breadth of his writing is unrivalled, managing to set things in a natural context, yet drawing in literary, musical and other references. So there are the works of Shakespeare, John Clare, William Wordsworth and Thomas Hardy. Similarly, the Kinks, Pink Floyd, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar get mentions … England: A Natural History is packed with interesting insights

England’s landscape is iconic – a tapestry of distinctive habitats that together make up a country unique for its rich diversity of flora and fauna. Concentrating on twelve habitats, John Lewis-Stempel leads us from estuary to park, chalk downland to woodland , river to field, village to moor, lake to heath, fen to coastal cliffs, in a book that is unquestionably his magnum opus. 
 
Referencing beloved great writers in whose footsteps he treads – Gilbert White, John Clare, W. H. Hudson, Richard Jefferies, Edward Thomas – and combining breathtakingly beautiful prose with detailed wildlife observation, botanical fact and ancient folklore, Lewis-Stempel immerses himself in each place, discovering their singular atmosphere, the play of the seasons; the feel of the wind in midwinter; the sounds of daybreak; how twilight settles. Each one – whether managed park or wild moor, plunging cliff or man-made Broads – has also shaped human life, forming our idea of ourselves and our sense of what ‘England’ means. 
 
England: A Natural History is the definitive volume on the English landscape, and the capstone of John Lewis-Stempel’s nature writing. 
........................................................................................................ 
 
‘No-one comes close to Lewis-Stempel’s ability to paint the English landscape in words. Maddeningly brilliant.’ - Sally Coulthard, author of A Brief History of the Countryside in 100 Objects

The Curious Life of the Cuckoo

The perfect gift for nature lovers, in this beautifully illustrated small format hardback, John Lewis-Stempel delves into the cuckoo's unique behaviour and captivating role in our cultural imagination, in folklore, myth, literature and music, turning his exquisite prose to one of the strangest tales of the countryside. 
--- 
Is there any bird more mysterious than the cuckoo? 
 
It is invariably heard, and not seen. And if seen, it is mistaken for a sharp-winged hawk. The female cuckoo - by a trick that borders on alchemy - is able to disguise its egg as another's. In Greek myth the god Zeus assumed the form of a cuckoo to seduce Hera. 
 
But we forgive the cuckoo its con-artistry, because it is the true herald of spring. It is the bird that uplifts our wintered hearts, with that first two-note 'cuk-koo' unmistakable as it sounds across the country. 
 
In The Curious Life of the Cuckoo, John Lewis-Stempel explains one of nature's greatest enigmas in vivid, lyrical prose, and celebrates this iconic bird. 
--- 
‘That John Lewis-Stempel is one of the best nature writers of his generation is undisputed.’ – Country Life 
 
‘His immense, patient powers of observation – along with a flair for the anthropomorphic – mean he is able to offer a portrait of animal life that's rare in its colour and drama.’ – Observer 
 
‘Engaging, closely-observed and beautiful ... this author’s deep love of the world around him is as inspiring as it is entertaining.’ – Daily Mail 
 
‘John Lewis-Stempel is the hottest nature writer around.’ – Spectator 
 
‘It’s his observation of the natural world – the sight, the sound, the smell of it – that is so memorable. He has a distinctively brisk, muscular style of writing that has a poetic intensity and concision. – Guardian 
 
‘His prose is immaculate’ – Der Spiegel 
 
‘Lewis-Stempel sees and hears things others will never see and hear, and he can write about them as no one else can.’– Daily Mail: Summer Reads

Is there any bird more mysterious than the cuckoo? 
 
It is invariably heard, and not seen. And if seen, it is mistaken for a sharp-winged hawk. The female cuckoo - by a trick that borders on alchemy - is able to disguise its egg as another's. In Greek myth the god Zeus assumed the form of a cuckoo to seduce Hera. 
 
But we forgive the cuckoo its con-artistry, because it is the true herald of spring. It is the bird that uplifts our wintered hearts, with that first two-note 'cuk-koo' unmistakable as it sounds across the country. 
 
In The Curious Life of the Cuckoo, John Lewis-Stempel explains one of nature's greatest enigmas in vivid, lyrical prose, and celebrates this iconic bird.

A year in rural France

La Vie

AN INDIE BESTSELLER 
 
'It reminded me all over again of why I threw up everything for the magic of La Belle France' Carol Drinkwater, author of The Olive Farm 
 
'An utterly beguiling immersion in La France Profonde, keenly observed and beautifully told' Felicity Cloake, author of One More Croissant for the Road 
 
For fans of Peter Mayle, 'Britain's finest living nature writer' takes the plunge and buys an old farmhouse deep in the French countryside - a perfect slice of sunny escapist joy from the perennial Sunday Times bestseller. 
 
The Charente: roofs of red terracotta tiles, bleached-white walls, windows shuttered against the blaring sun. The baker does his rounds in his battered little white van with a hundred warm baguettes in the back, while a cat picks its way past a Romanesque church, the sound of bells skipping across miles of rolling, glorious countryside. 
 
For many years a farmer in England, John Lewis-Stempel yearned once again to live in a landscape where turtle doves purr and nightingales sing, as they did almost everywhere in his childhood. He wanted to be self-sufficient, to make his own wine and learn the secrets of truffle farming. And so, buying an old honey-coloured limestone house with bright blue shutters, the Lewis-Stempels began their new life as peasant farmers. 
 
Over that first year, Lewis-Stempel fell in love with the French countryside, from the wild boar that trot past the kitchen window to the glow-worms and citronella candles that flicker in the evening garden. Although it began as a practical enterprise, it quickly became an affair of the heart: of learning to bite the end off the morning baguette; taking two hours for lunch; in short, living the good life - or as the French say, La Vie.

The Charente: roofs of red terracotta tiles, bleached-white walls, windows shuttered against the blaring sun. The baker does his rounds in his battered little white van with a hundred warm baguettes in the back, while a cat picks its way past a Romanesque church, the sound of bells skipping across miles of rolling, glorious countryside. 
 
For many years a farmer in England, John Lewis-Stempel yearned once again to live in a landscape where turtle doves purr and nightingales sing, as they did almost everywhere in his childhood. He wanted to be self-sufficient, to make his own wine and learn the secrets of truffle farming. And so, buying an old honey-coloured limestone house with bright blue shutters, the Lewis-Stempels began their new life as peasant farmers. 
 
Over that first year, Lewis-Stempel fell in love with the French countryside, from the wild boar that trot past the kitchen window to the glow-worms and citronella candles that flicker in the evening garden. Although it began as a practical enterprise, it quickly became an affair of the heart: of learning to bite the end off the morning baguette; taking two hours for lunch; in short, living the good life - or as the French say, La Vie.

The Biography of An English Farm – The Sunday Times Bestseller

Woodston

One of Britain's finest nature writers...Lewis-Stempel maps an intriguing journey through his ancestral farmland.

Hardback Book of the Month: John Lewis-Stempel has ... an eye for vivid detail who creates evocative images as he shares his knowledge and love of the countryside.

From a master of storytelling... Other writers have written about the history of agriculture ... but this writer is the master, because his book is not just a scholarly treatise. It is about the history of agriculture, yes, but it is a personal account, written with a great love of the subject. It is the 'biography' of a farm and the English landscape, written through the eyes of a man who is a true wordsmith, knowledgeable on his subject and lover of the natural world. It is these enthusiasms which make it so readable ... [Lewis-Stempel is] a writer who is without equal in his field.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
 'Lewis-Stempel is one of our finest nature writers ... He writes with delicate observation and authority, giving us in Woodston a book teeming with fascinating details, anecdotes and penetrating insights into the real cost of our denatured countryside.' - Sunday Times 
 
 'The English countryside is 'a work of human art, done by the many and the nameless' and John Lewis-Stempel wanted to celebrate it. He has succeeded admirably.' - Daily Mail 
 _________________ 
 In the beginning was the earth... 
 
 From the Paleozoic volcanoes that stained its soil, to the Saxons who occupied it, to the Tudors who traded its wool, to the Land Girls of wartime, John Lewis-Stempel charts a sweeping, lyrical history of Woodston: the quintessential English farm. 
 
 With his combined skills of farmer and historian, Lewis-Stempel digs deep into written records, the memories of relatives, and the landscape itself to celebrate the farmland his family have been bound to for millennia. Through Woodston's life, we feel the joyful arrival of oxen ploughing; we see pigs rootling in the medieval apple orchard; and take in the sharp, drowsy fragrance of hops on Edwardian air. He draws upon his wealth of historical knowledge and his innate sense of place to create a passionate, fascinating biography of farming in England. 
 
 Woodston not only reminds us of the rural riches buried beneath our feet but of our shared roots that tie us to the land.

The story of our most misunderstood farmyard animal

The Sheep’s Tale

'An important book on several levels... Read a few sentences out loud, wherever you are.' Rosamund Young 
 
Everybody thinks they know what sheep are like: they're stupid, noisy, cowardly ('lambs to the slaughter'), and they're 'sheepwrecking' the environment. 
 
Or maybe not. Contrary to popular prejudice, sheep are among the smartest animals in the farmyard, fiercely loyal, forming long and lasting friendships. Sheep, farmed properly, are boons to biodiversity. They also happen to taste good and their fleeces warm us through the winter - indeed, John Lewis-Stempel's family supplied the wool for Queen Elizabeth's 'hose'. 
 
Observing the traditional shepherd's calendar, The Sheep's Tale is a loving biography of ewes, lambs, and rams through the seasons. Lewis-Stempel tends to his flock with deep-rooted wisdom, ethical consideration, affection, and humour. This book is a tribute to all the sheep he has reared and sheared - from gregarious Action Ram to sweet Maid Marion. In his inimitable style, he shares the tales that only a shepherd can tell.

I found this book not only pleasingly escapist but also nostalgic... the writing is vivid, lyrical and seductive... There's a romance to shepherding that is entirely absent from pig and poultry farming.

The Sheep's Tale is an important book on several levels... Read a few sentences out loud, wherever you are; everyone should know more about sheep.

Rosamund Young, author of The Secret Life of Cows

A book of brilliant authenticity. Lewis-Stempel's affection for, and empathy with, sheep springs off every page.

Sally Coulthard, author of A Short History of the World According to Sheep

John Lewis Stempel's paean of praise for our wonderful and unique breeds of British sheep ought to be widely read. Sheep and pastoral farming are coming under increasingly strident onslaught and they will need every ounce of support they can get if they are to survive into the future.

Philip Walling, author of Counting Sheep

This little book is both delightful and useful.

An insider's account of the gentle art of shepherding.. . a paean to a lost era, when shepherds watched their flocks by night and regarded them with respectful understanding, rather than exploiting them as mere commodities... delivered with engaging wit... intelligently argued and full of surprising facts.

[Lewis-Stempel is] a superb nature writer... Anyone who tells you that these creatures are stupid is pulling the wool over your eyes.

A warm-hearted and deeply personal biography of ewes, rams and lambs... His affection for his flock shines through these shepherding tales.

Everybody thinks they know what sheep are like: they're stupid, noisy, cowardly ('lambs to the slaughter'), and they're 'sheepwrecking' the environment. 
 
Or maybe not. Contrary to popular prejudice, sheep are among the smartest animals in the farmyard, fiercely loyal, forming long and lasting friendships. Sheep, farmed properly, are boons to biodiversity. They also happen to taste good and their fleeces warm us through the winter - indeed, John Lewis-Stempel's family supplied the wool for Queen Elizabeth's 'hose'. 
 
Observing the traditional shepherd's calendar, The Sheep's Tale is a loving biography of ewes, lambs, and rams through the seasons. Lewis-Stempel tends to his flock with deep-rooted wisdom, ethical consideration, affection, and humour. This book is a tribute to all the sheep he has reared and sheared - from gregarious Action Ram to sweet Maid Marion. In his inimitable style, he shares the tales that only a shepherd can tell.

Four Journeys into Britain After Dark

Nightwalking

'Britain's finest living nature writer' THE TIMES 
 
'Lewis-Stempel's greatest gift remains his prose, with all its vividness and energy' THE DAILY MAIL 
 
'The hottest nature writer around' THE SPECTATOR 
 
At night, the normal rules of Nature do not apply. In the night-wood I have met a badger coming the other way, tipped my cap, said hello. The animals do not expect us humans to be abroad in the dark, which is their time, when the world still belongs to them. 
 
That was in winter. The screaming of a tawny owl echoed off the bare trees. For all of our street-lamp civilization, you can still hear the call of the wild. If, if, you go out after the decline of the day... 
 
As the human world settles down each evening, nocturnal animals prepare to take back the countryside. Taking readers on four walks through the four seasons, acclaimed nature writer and farmer John Lewis-Stempel reveals a world bursting with life and normally hidden from view. Out beyond the cities, it is still possible to see the night sky full of stars, or witness a moonbow, an arch of white light in the heavens. 
 
It is time for us to leave our lairs and go tramping. To join our fellow creatures of the night.

This is a small book, yet it conveys memorably the magnitude and majesty of its subject - a charming blend of nature diary, sound archive and scent library. It can even be seen as a kind of dictionary in which, like Byron's nightwandering Manfred, we can learn 'the language of another world'.

He describes the allure of an after dark stroll with typical poetic aplomb...evocative and encouraging

A beautiful little hardback book and wonderful stocking filler for the nature-lover in your life

A worthy addition to a delightful and uplifting series

At night, the normal rules of nature do not apply. In the night wood I have met a badger coming the other way, tipped my cap, said hello. The animals do not expect us humans to be abroad in the dark, which is their time, when the world still belongs to them. 
 
As the human world settles down each evening, nocturnal animals prepare to take back the countryside. Hares box in the ploughfield and bats vortex overhead. Fox cubs tumble in the glow of the waxing moon. 
 
Away from the streetlamps of 'civilization' it is still possible to see jewel-like stars hanging in black velvet skies or witness a moonbow, an arch of white light in the heavens. 
 
Nightwalking takes readers on four atmospheric walks through the seasons. In sparkling prose, John Lewis-Stempel draws us into the shadowlands and reveals a world bursting with life and normally hidden from view. 
 
It is time for us to leave our lairs and go walking. To join the creatures of the night. 
 
£9.99

The Soaring Life of the Lark

John Lewis-Stempel is a farmer and 'Britain's finest living nature writer' (The Times). His books include the Sunday Times bestsellers The Running Hare and The Wood. He is the only person to have won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing twice, with Meadowland and Where Poppies Blow. In 2016 he was named Magazine Columnist of the Year for his column in Country Life. He farms cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. Traditionally.

"How to describe the ecstatic song of larks? How the writers and poets have tried..." 
 
Skylarks are the heralds of our countryside. Their music is the quintessential sound of spring. The spirit of English pastoralism, they inspire poets, composers and farmers alike. In the trenches of World War I they were a reminder of the chattering meadows of home. 
 
Perhaps you were up with the lark, or as happy as one. History has seen us poeticise and musicise the bird, but also capture and eat them. We watch as they climb the sky, delight in their joyful singing, and yet we harm them too. 
 
 The Soaring life of the Lark explores the music and poetry; the breath-taking heights and struggle to survive of one of Britain's most iconic songbirds. 
 
PRAISE FOR JOHN LEWIS-STEMPEL 
 
'Britain's finest living nature writer' - The Times 
 
'Lewis-Stempel is a fourth-generation farmer gifted with an extraordinary ability to write prose that soars and sings' - Daily Mail

The Wild Life of the Fox

Britain’s finest nature writer explores the myths, history and hidden world of the enigmatic animal that stalks our meadows and our city streets alike.

‘I adore the fox for its magnificence; I hate the fox for killing my chickens. 
To love and loathe the fox is a British condition.’ 
 
The fox is our apex predator, our most beautiful and clever killer. We have witnessed its wild touch, watched it slink by bins at night and been chilled by its high-pitched scream. And yet we long to stroke the tumbling cubs outside their tunnel homes and watch the vixen stalk the cornfield. 
 
There is something about foxes. They captivate us like no other species. 
 
Exploring our long, sometimes complicated relationship with this remarkable creature, The Wild Life of the Fox is Vulpes vulpes in vivid detail. 
 
£8.99

"I adore the fox for its magnificence; I hate the fox for killing my chickens. 
To love and loathe the fox is a British condition." 
 
The fox is our apex predator, our most beautiful and clever killer. We have witnessed its wild touch, watched it slink by bins at night and been chilled by its high-pitched scream. And yet we long to stroke the tumbling cubs outside their tunnel homes and watch the vixen stalk the cornfield. 
 
There is something about foxes. They captivate us like no other species. 
 
Exploring a long and sometimes complicated relationship, The Wild Life of the Fox captures our love – and sometimes loathing – of this magnificent creature in vivid detail and lyrical prose.

The Deep Life of the Pond

Still Water

The final book in the exquisite quartet from Britain's bestselling natural history writer – and ‘finest living nature writer’ The Times – explores a year in the life of a farm pond.

A beautifully written celebration of one of the natural world's most fertile founts of biodiversity and artistic inspiration ... A  call to arms.

BEST NATURE BOOKS OF THE YEAR, 2019, The Times

The master of nature-writing takes readers through the changing life of a pond season by season.

Great nature writing needs to be informative, detailed, accurate, lyrical, and, above all, to instil a sense of gratitude and wonder. John Lewis-Stempel succeeds in all these things triumphantly. From amorous toads to the eye-popping mating habits of water boatmen, a magical celebration of pond life by one of our finest, most evocative nature writers.

One of England's most noted nature writers ... Still Water is a scintillating mirror of ourselves.

UK farmer and nature writer John Lewis-Stempel has won much acclaim for his perfectly observed reflections on pastoral habitats and their residents. Still Water explores "the deep life" of ponds with characteristic wit and beauty from the two-time Wainwright Prize winner.

Lewis-Stempel is a superb observer… he also has an original turn of phrase; colourful, but not overwrought…by the end he has shown with some flair that in the pond there are wondrous, multitudinous life forms. And curious cruelties

Lewis-Stempel sees and hears things others will never see and hear, and he can write about them as no one else can.

‘Lewis-Stempel vividly evokes a world of pond skaters and whirligig beetles, and — the most astonishing — dragonflies. Like so much in nature, the humble pond is a place for both simple pleasures and profound reflections.'

The Times and Irish Independent: BEST NATURE BOOKS OF THE YEAR 
 
Great nature writing needs to be informative, detailed, accurate, lyrical, and, above all, to instil a sense of gratitude and wonder. John Lewis-Stempel succeeds in all these things triumphantly. From amorous toads to the eye-popping mating habits of water boatmen, a magical celebration of pond life by one of our finest, most evocative nature writers.' Daily Mail 
 
Ponds: small bodies of water, both naturally formed and artificial, home to wondrous, multitudinous life-forms. Ponds define our childhood: frogspawn, goldfish, feeding the ducks, but also our village life, our farms, our landscape. And they are multi-layered - from carp circling the bottom to water boatmen, coot, and birds dragonflies overhead. In Still Water, John immerses himself in the murky depths, both literarily and figuratively, to explore the still waters of the British countryside through each month of the year.

The Private Life of the Hare

A beautifully illustrated and lyrical celebration of this fascinating creature from the prize-winning author of bestsellers The Running Hare, Meadowland and Where Poppies Blow.

In vivid prose, [John Lewis-Stempel] celebrates how, in an age when television cameras have revealed so much in our landscape, the hare remains as magical and elusive as ever.

In elegant prose, [John Lewis-Stempel] celebrates the elusive magic of these beautiful night creatures.

THE PERFECT GIFT FOR NATURE LOVERS 
 
‘To see a hare sit still as stone, to watch a hare boxing on a frosty March morning, to witness a hare bolt . . . these are great things. Every field should have a hare.’ 
 
The hare, a night creature and country-dweller, is a rare sight for most people. We know them only from legends and stories. They are shape-shifters, witches’ familiars and symbols of fertility. They are arrogant, as in Aesop’s The Hare and the Tortoise, and absurd, as in Lewis Carroll’s Mad March Hare. In the absence of observed facts, speculation and fantasy have flourished. But real hares? What are they like? 
 
In The Private Life of the Hare, John Lewis-Stempel explores myths, history and the reality of the hare. And in vivid, elegant prose he celebrates how, in an age when television cameras have revealed so much in our landscape, the hare remains as elusive and magical as ever.

The Life & Times of Cockshutt Wood

The Wood

From the UK's bestselling natural history writer: 'A heartfelt and evocative diary of a year among the trees.' Guardian

It is a pleasure to be in the company of a man who is so attuned to his woody world ... He is good at sketching nature, fixing a vivid image in the mind's eye of a reader ... Lewis-Stempel has rightly won himself the reputation as being among our best nature writers ... The Wood is an entertaining, illuminating, well-turned read

John Lewis-Stempel is the hottest nature writer around.

A  heartfelt and evocative diary of a year among the trees…it’s his observation of the natural world – the sight, the sound, the smell of it – that is so memorable. He has a distinctively brisk, muscular style of writing that has a poetic intensity and concision.

Lyrical diary documenting a year in nature ... he’s brilliant on birds and their habits.

Another triumph. Natural, translucent, full of  half-glimpsed depths....just like a wood itself.

This is countryside writing crackling with vitality. I savoured every month spent in this exquisite sylvan zoo. And  -   the hallmark of a great read  -  I learned a lot.

It sounds magical and you just know it will be gloriously written.

Words burn on the page, as ash logs flame in an open fire while you journey with (Lewis-Stempel) through the four seasons ... his intimate knowledge sets him way ahead of his contemporaries .. A book not only for those who love the countryside but for those who enjoy the written word as set down by a master of the language.

Energetic narrative, tumbling with facts, judgements and observations, as well as bursts of humour.

This is a memoir of 12 months in the life of a wood, stuffed with tales of dive-bombing owls, doomed voles and ancient trees. Beautiful writing and plenty of literary asides.

'BRITAIN'S FINEST LIVING NATURE WRITER' - THE TIMES 
 
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER and BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week' from 'indisputably, one of the best nature-writers of his generation' (Country Life) 
 
Written in diary format, The Wood is the story of English woodlands as they change with the seasons. Lyrical and informative, steeped in poetry and folklore, The Wood inhabits the mind and touches the soul. 
 
For four years John Lewis-Stempel managed Cockshutt wood, a particular wood - three and half acres of mixed woodland in south west Herefordshire - that stands as exemplar for all the small woods of England. John coppiced the trees and raised cows and pigs who roamed free there. 
 
This is the diary of the last year, by which time he had come to know it from the bottom of its beech roots to the tip of its oaks, and to know all the animals that lived there - the fox, the pheasants, the wood mice, the tawny owl - and where the best bluebells grew. For many fauna and flora, woods like Cockshutt are the last refuge. It proves a sanctuary for John too. 
 
To read The Wood is to be amongst its trees as the seasons change, following an easy path until, suddenly the view is broken by a screen of leaves, or your foot catches on a root, or a bird startles overhead. This is a wood you will never want to leave.

The Glorious Life of the Oak

Our greatest nature writer explores the myths, legends, history and hidden world of our most iconic tree.

A beautiful object and a very British story written with real lyricism - some of the finest sentences I've read.

Lewis-Stempel is one of the best of the new generation of nature writers, an oak himself in that particular corner of the literary forest. As a working farmer, from a long line of Herefordshire farmers, he has daily exposure to his source material. In books such as Meadowland, The Running Hare and, most recently, The Wood, he has distilled his knowledge and his enthusiasm into a style that is as rich and earthy as its subject.

AS FEATURED ON 'BBC RADIO 4 'GOOD READS'. 
Woodlands Awards 2019: Woodland Books of the Year 
 
'The oak is the wooden tie between heaven and earth. It is the lynch pin of the British landscape.' 
 
The oak is our most beloved and most common tree. It has roots that stretch back to all the old European cultures but Britain has more ancient oaks than all the other European countries put together. More than half the ancient oaks in the world are in Britain. 
 
Many of our ancestors - the Angles, the Saxons, the Norse - came to the British Isles in longships made of oak. For centuries the oak touched every part of a Briton's life - from cradle to coffin It was oak that made the 'wooden walls' of Nelson's navy, and the navy that allowed Britain to rule the world. Even in the digital Apple age, the real oak has resonance - the word speaks of fortitude, antiquity, pastoralism. 
 
The Glorious Life of the Oak explores our long relationship with this iconic tree; it considers the life-cycle of the oak, the flora and fauna that depend on the oak, the oak as medicine, food and drink, where Britain's mightiest oaks can be found, and it tells of oak stories from folklore, myth and legend.

a beautifully illustrated and lyrical celebration of this mythical creature from bestselling and prize-winning author John Lewis-Stempel

The Secret Life of the Owl

A beautifully illustrated and lyrical celebration of this mythical creature from the prize-winning author of bestsellers The Running Hare, Meadowland and Where Poppies Blow.

The perfect gift for nature lovers - The Book of the Owl is a beautifully illustrated small format hardback exploring the legend and history of the owl. A true celebration of this magnificent creature - its natural powers and its mythical glory. Fans of Stephen Moss and Fiona Stafford will not be disappointed. 
 
'In this short, beautiful little book, the farmer and nature writer introduces us to the wisdom of owls.. every question you might ask ... is answered with economy and insight and the cultural references and quotations are as rich as you would expect from this brilliant writer.' -- Daily Mail 
 
'John Lewis-Stempel is one of the best nature writers of his generation' -- Country Life 
 
'One of our finest nature writers with an essay length portrait of a bird that has fascinated humans for millennia.' -- Mail on Sunday 
 
'An absolute pleasure to read' -- ***** Reader review 
'Hypnotic reading' -- ***** Reader review 
'Absolutely fascinating' -- ***** Reader review 
'Hard to put down once opened, it is finished all too quickly' -- ***** Reader review 
******************************************************************************* 
'Dusk is filling the valley. It is the time of the gloaming, the owl-light. 
Out in the wood, the resident tawny has started calling, Hoo-hoo-hoo-h-o-o-o.' 
 
There is something about owls. They feature in every major culture from the Stone Age onwards. They are creatures of the night, and thus of magic. They are the birds of ill-tidings, the avian messengers from the Other Side. 
But owls - with the sapient flatness of their faces, their big, round eyes, their paternal expressions - are also reassuringly familiar. We see them as wise, like Athena's owl, and loyal, like Harry Potter's Hedwig. Human-like, in other words. 
 
No other species has so captivated us.

A charming essay...packed with facts and literary asides...Lewis-Stempel has a wonderful way with words...he also packs the book with the singing, ringing words of others.

Best of the year's Natural History:  one of our finest nature writers with an essay length portrait of a bird that has fascinated humans for millennia.

In this short, beautiful little book, the farmer and nature writer introduces us to the wisdom of owls.. every question you might ask ... is answered with economy and insight and the cultural references and quotations are as rich as you would expect from this brilliant writer.

John is one of this country's greatest nature writers...this is a unique look at the Owl's of Britain in both word and verse...some incredible facts... a wonderful little book for anyone who wants to know a little more of some of our most secret of birds and ones that should be celebrated.

The perfect gift for nature lovers - The Book of the Owl is a beautifully illustrated small format hardback exploring the legend and history of the owl. A true celebration of this magnificent creature - its natural powers and its mythical glory. Fans of Stephen Moss and Fiona Stafford will not be disappointed. 
 
'In this short, beautiful little book, the farmer and nature writer introduces us to the wisdom of owls.. every question you might ask ... is answered with economy and insight and the cultural references and quotations are as rich as you would expect from this brilliant writer.' -- Daily Mail 
 
'John Lewis-Stempel is one of the best nature writers of his generation' -- Country Life 
 
'One of our finest nature writers with an essay length portrait of a bird that has fascinated humans for millennia.' -- Mail on Sunday 
 
'An absolute pleasure to read' -- ***** Reader review 
'Hypnotic reading' -- ***** Reader review 
'Absolutely fascinating' -- ***** Reader review 
'Hard to put down once opened, it is finished all too quickly' -- ***** Reader review 
******************************************************************************* 
 'Dusk is filling the valley. It is the time of the gloaming, the owl-light. 
 Out in the wood, the resident tawny has started calling, Hoo-hoo-hoo-h-o-o-o.' 
 
 There is something about owls. They feature in every major culture from the Stone Age onwards. They are creatures of the night, and thus of magic. They are the birds of ill-tidings, the avian messengers from the Other Side. 
But owls - with the sapient flatness of their faces, their big, round eyes, their paternal expressions - are also reassuringly familiar. We see them as wise, like Athena's owl, and loyal, like Harry Potter's Hedwig. Human-like, in other words. 
 
 No other species has so captivated us.

The Secret Life of Farmland

The Running Hare

The critically acclaimed celebration of English wildlife and the bestselling natural history title of 2016, SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2017.

He describes beautifully the changing of the seasons and the habits of animals such as the hares that make their home in his field. The book is a superb piece of nature writing.

That John Lewis-Stempel is one of the best nature writers of his generation is undisputed.

Englightening and stylish...Readers who enjoyed the author’s last book, Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field, will find much in the same vein here: a mix of agricultural history, rural lore, topographical description and childhood memories. I learned a good deal.... Lewis-Stempel is a fine stylist, adroitly conjuring scenes in which “medieval mist hangs in the trees” or “frost clenches the ground”...

A beautifully written paean to the countryside in all its rich diversity.

A beautifully observed book, full of poetic descriptions. Brilliant and galvanising.

Lewis-Stempel is a fourth-generation farmer gifted with an extraordinary ability to write prose that soars and sings, like a skylark over unspoiled fields. This wonderful book (a worthy follow-up to his brilliant Meadowland) is a hymn in praise of enlightened farming methods which reject lethal chemicals and allow insects, birds and flowers to thrive, as once they did. 
 
As an experiment Lewis-Stempel rents an ordinary arable field (his own property is a hill farm) to plough and manage in the old-fashioned way, transforming it into a traditional wheatfield to attract wildlife. Even — he hopes — hares. The work is back-breaking but the rewards are sublime. Like the hares, Lewis-Stempel’s words dance.

Fans of Lewis-Stempel's bestselling Meadowland will find here the same easy-reading prose fuelled by daft-as-a-brush enthusiasm and embellished with lyrical flourishes ... the mud-spattered details of a farming life lend The Running Hare a unique realness.

A beautiful love letter ... to a wheat field [and] a pleasurable read

A stirring rural fantasia...Lewis-Stempel's heart and mind are absolutely in the right place. I salute him and I adored his appreciation of the quirky detail.

This rather beautiful book is very much in the mould of the new nature writing, but it’s also wondrously inspiring.

[John Lewis-Stempel] writes in a mood of wistful regret, intriguingly melding history with memoir, rich description with his own enthusiasm to rekindle what has been lost, leaving the reader with a greater understanding of what might lie on the other side of the hedge.

There’s a quiet ferocity running through [The Running Hare], powerful yet subtle, refreshingly practical and quotidian … There is a raw honesty to this book.

A keen observer of the natural world, Lewis-Stempel's writing is quietly passionate, intensely descriptive and beautifully detailed as he juxtaposes seemingly antithetical ideas – wildlife and farming, and hares and humans. Throughout the book, the author skilfully interweaves his life story and the history of farming into the story of this project. This book is deeply moving and ultimately, hopeful.

Even better than Meadowland, The Running Hare is funny, erudite and a delight from start to finish. John Lewis-Stempel knows the land, loves it – and works it. He is a farmer, muddy-booted and diligent, who effortlessly recreates on the page the intimacy with the natural world that his daily rounds bring. But farming is also the enemy in his piece – the farming of the mega-tractor and the sprayer, the farming that has, during his lifetime, quietly destroyed the greater part of the country's flora and birdlife. The Running Hare is an important book, as richly layered and rewarding as the soil of an unimproved field.

Editor's Choice, Natural History: the renowned nature writer explores the natural histories of the wild animals and plants that live in and under our ploughland ... If you'll forgive the pun, there's a down to earth quality to his nature writing that I find particularly appealing.

Stempel's writing is quietly passionate, intensely descriptive and beautifully detailed. This book deeply moving and ultimately, hopeful ... One of the ten best conservation and environment books of 2016

Minute detail, lovingly observed and subtly expressed, allied to the broader picture of the harm we are doing to our countryside through intensive farming, and the good that we could be doing if we worked with nature instead of against it. I love the earthiness of John Lewis-Stempel's writing - for example, his frustration at the job of binding straw into sheaves by hand: 'The straw scratches, the nettles sting, the thistles prickle. Hand-binding is one of those impossible rural jobs which require gloves, though the self-same gloves prevent the very nimbleness needed.' That sentence could not have been written by some fine-fingered fellow simpering by the hedge over a notebook. The author has seen it, done it, sweated it, and has earned the right to write about it with straw-cut fingers and itchy palms. Brilliant stuff.

A fine writer with wonderful descriptive skills and a winning sense of humor ... Thus, this is a book for the localist, the agrarian, the nature-lover—the conservative who’s truly interested in conserving.

A beautifully written paean to the countryside in all its rich diversity

__________________ 
 
'BRITAIN'S FINEST LIVING NATURE WRITER' - THE TIMES 
 
The Sunday Times Bestseller - SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2017 
 
Traditional ploughland is disappearing. Seven cornfield flowers have become extinct in the last twenty years. Once abundant, the corn bunting and the lapwing are on the Red List. The corncrake is all but extinct in England. And the hare is running for its life. 
 
Written in exquisite prose, The Running Hare tells the story of the wild animals and plants that live in and under our ploughland, from the labouring microbes to the patrolling kestrel above the corn, from the linnet pecking at seeds to the seven-spot ladybird that eats the aphids that eat the crop. It recalls an era before open-roofed factories and silent, empty fields, recording the ongoing destruction of the unique, fragile, glorious ploughland that exists just down the village lane. 
 
But it is also the story of ploughland through the eyes of man who took on a field and husbanded it in a natural, traditional way, restoring its fertility and wildlife, bringing back the old farmland flowers and animals. John Lewis Stempel demonstrates that it is still possible to create a place where the hare can rest safe. 
 
Shortlisted for the Richard Jefferies Society White Horse Bookshop Prize 2016. John Lewis-Stempel was winner of the Thwaites Wainwright Prize 2015 for MEADOWLAND.

A Year of Living on Wild Food

The Wild Life

A beautifully written, witty and inspirational account of a man (and his dog) living for a year on only what can be hunted, fished or foraged.

This is a great book: tough and funny, metaphysical and earthy, passionate and honest. Most of all, honest: not just in the sense of 'candid', but honest also in that it reveals the sheer bloody awkwardness, and the sheer awkward bloodiness, of trying to live even semi-wild these days. What might seem like a gimmick turns out to be a way of discovering a great deal about that complicated thing we call 'land'. There's also some beautiful writing about place

Robert Macfarlane, author of the international bestseller, The Wild Places

Beautifully written. The closest thing you can get to poetry in prose

A fascinating account of each month as [John Lewis Stempel] tracks, kills and gathers what he needs to stay alive... But this is more than just a rundown of all the perfectly edible stuff out there that we tend to overlook in our everyday, supermarket-dominated lives. The Wild Life is also a meditation on survival and our connection to the land... A timely and compelling book

Tough, honest, funny, poetic and informative, this is an initiatory and spiritual journey. A life lesson for us all

A large slice of nostalgia served up in an amusing and informative narrative

This is a good-natured tale well studded with recipes

The Wild Life is John Lewis-Stempel's account of twelve months eating only food shot, caught or foraged from the fields, hedges, and brooks of his forty-acre farm. Nothing from a shop and nothing raised from agriculture. Could it even be done? 
 
We witness the season-by-season drama as the author survives on Nature's larder, trains Edith, a reluctant gundog, and conjures new recipes. And, above all, we see him get closer to Nature. Because, after all, you're never closer to Nature than when you're trying to kill it or pick it. 
 
Lyrical, observant and mordantly funny, The Wild Life is an extraordinary celebration of our natural heritage, and a testament to the importance of getting back to one's roots - spiritually and practically.

the private life of an English field

Meadowland

A love song to the land.  A magical month by month observation through parted grass of the flora and fauna of a meadow.

My book of the year. Meadowland is a seasonal journey of discovery, a pilgrimage that nurtures the soul and gives meaning to life; all life. Each beautifully crafted sentence provides a stepping-stone to absorb and understand the land, with the writer’s lyrical voice acting as guide and trusty staff as well as illuminating the mind’s eye with wonderful imagery and perceptive literary devices.

Fascinating ... Books have been written about entire countries that contain a less interesting cast of characters than Lewis-Stempel's account of one field on the edge of Wales. Lewis-Stempel’s immense, patient powers of observation – along with a flair for the anthropomorphic – mean he is able to offer a portrait of animal life that's rare in its colour and drama. 
 
Lewis-Stempel's eye for detail and the poetic imagery of sentences are reminiscent of the late, brilliant Roger Deakin...There is barely a creature in Meadowland that I didn't learn at least one interesting new fact about .

Engaging, closely-observed and beautiful ... this author’s deep love of the world around him is as inspiring as it is entertaining. This wonderful book ... is most of all, a moving hymn of gratitude from a man so rooted, so full of joy that he likens his land to a cathedral and knows that: ‘To stand alone in a field in England and listen to the morning chorus of the birds is to remember why life is precious'.

[JLS] has a sharp eye, a fluent pen and that omnivorous, innocently English curiosity about wild creatures... There are lyrical moments aplenty but this is not the cloying 'regardez-moi maman' nature writing. JLS's tone is level, involved, humorous and even self-deprecating... This is a rich, interesting book, generously studded with raisins of curious information.

My holiday reading: [John Lewis-Stempel] knows not only all about the different kinds of life in such a place and how they all fit together, but can also write so vividly.

Lively elegant prose. [John Lewis-Stempel's] thoughtful, discursive, often humorous and always enjoyable narrative conveys a vital message.

A beautifully written and insightful diary with fascinating historical and literary diversions.

This very personal love letter to the land is steeped in knowledge of the local flora, fauna and history, and grounded by the realities of farming. Precise and poetic descriptions are rooted in the context of conservation issues and heritage – names are often traced to their Anglo-Saxon or Celtic roots. Neither sentimental rhapsody nor environmental study, although containing elements of both, this is an insightful meditation on our relationship with nature, and on nature writing itself.

This is a great book – a magnificent love letter to the natural world, full of wisdom and experience, written with wit, poetry and love. It is, in fact, one of the best five books I have ever had the privilege to read. I want to scream from the rooftops: buy it, give it, read it.

An intimate, month-by-month observation of the flora and fauna of an English meadow; its foxes, badgers, rabbits, skylarks, cowslips. It's written in exquisite prose.

A careful exploration of the rich cultural history of this priceless British habitat … a worthy tribute to a fragile ecosystem.

Once you become immersed in [John Lewis-Stempel's] joyful encounters with a host of wild flowers and creatures in his patch of Herefordshire, it's hard not to want to spend time - a lifetime at least - in his meadow.

This beautiful panegyric to the traditional English hay meadow is an intimate yet surprisingly open book.  Lewis-Stempel has created a deeply personal work, infused with natural history and ancient lores, yet entwined with the fabric of the modern day.

Intelligent, delightful, cultured and informative. It's a very good read and I feel I will come back to it each year ...Recommend this book very strongly ...The writing is excellent and the subject is engaging. Do buy this book. Read and weep for what we have lost.

Absolutely inspiring and beautiful… I would recommend it to anyone

Ken Thompson, author of 'Where Do Camels Belong?'

An enchanting evocation of one of man's magical rural oases.

Having grown up in rural Hertfordshire, I’m immediately drawn to this wonderful account of the seasons and found many connections with the wildlife in London’s eight Royal Parks.

Sara Lom, Chief Executive of the Royal Parks Foundation

An wonderful, intimate recording of the passing months and seasons of an ancient meadow... It encourages us to cherish, to look and to experience nature more closely.

A vivid day-by-day account of the wild things he witnesses ... [with] intimate scenes [that] dot energetically between human and non-human tragedy and comedy.  The backdrop - although right at the book's felt heart - is Mr Lewis-Stempel's attempt to gain the kind of imaginative lift-off that has been sought by every Arcadian dreamer since pastoral literature began.

It's the vignettes that suck us in: how flirtatious wrens court in the spring and how the curlew lands 20 yards from its nest ... It's enough to make any reader want their own meadowland.

[John Lewis-Stempel's] descriptions are intimate and lyrical, giving an overwhelming impression of an author who cares deeply for the landscape in which he finds himself ... We are in a golden age of nature writing, and John Lewis-Stempel [is] among its finest exponents.

Seen through the eyes and pen of a writer engaged in wresting a living from the land, yet also alert to the silent signs of the seasons... paints a vivid picture.

Meadowlands by John Lewis-Stempel caught me by surprise and had me spellbound. I couldn’t put it down when I read it on holiday and it has helped me to see the world anew – looking for details and looking for nature around you.

Mike Collins, Senior Press Officer, National Trust

My book of 2014: A wonderfully evocative and restful read

Dame Athene Donald, Master of Churchill College, Cambridge

Of my best books of 2014, amongst some increasingly austere and dull nature writing, one book shone out for its unaffected simplicity and grace: Meadowland: The Private Life Of An English Field by John Lewis-Stempel

Best book about plants and gardening of 2015

Christopher Woodward, director of the Garden Museum

Runner up Booklife Book of the Year:  Nature writing at its finest.

A year in the life of a Herefordshire meadow – beautifully written, verging on poetic.

A careful exploration of the rich cultural history of this priceless British habitat.

Lewis-Stempel's exquisite prose are bolstered by a vast breadth of knowledge and a fierce admiration of his subject.  This is beautiful love letter to the natural world and a must-read!

_________________ 
 
'BRITAIN'S FINEST LIVING NATURE WRITER' - THE TIMES 
 
WINNER OF THE THWAITES WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2015 
 
What really goes on in the long grass? 
 
Meadowland gives an unique and intimate account of an English meadow’s life from January to December, together with its biography. In exquisite prose, John Lewis-Stempel records the passage of the seasons from cowslips in spring to the hay-cutting of summer and grazing in autumn, and includes the biographies of the animals that inhabit the grass and the soil beneath: the badger clan, the fox family, the rabbit warren,the skylark brood and the curlew pair, among others. Their births, lives, and deaths are stories that thread through the book from first page to last.

The Making of the World’s Most Famous Vet

Young James Herriot

The story of James Herriot's formative years at veterinary college - now in paperback

A delightful dollop of nostalgia and a reminder of the joy of Herriot's antics.

John Lewis-Stempel

Books by John Lewis-Stempel

Articles featuring John Lewis-Stempel

Independent Bookshop Week: Penguin authors celebrate their favourites

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter