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English Pastoral
- Narrated by: Bryan Dick
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
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Publisher's Summary
The author of the beloved number one best seller The Shepherd's Life returns with a stirring history of family, loss and the land over three generations on a Lake District farm.
James Rebanks was taught by his grandfather to work the land the old way. Their family farm in the Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, that landscape had profoundly changed. The men and women had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled; the skies had emptied of birds and their wind-blown song.
English Pastoral is the story of an inheritance: one that affects us all. It tells of how rural landscapes around the world were brought close to collapse and how the age-old rhythms of work, weather, community and wild things were lost. But this elegy from the Northern Fells is also a song of hope: of how, guided by the past, one farmer began to salvage a tiny corner of England that was now his, doing his best to restore the life that had vanished and to leave a legacy for the future.
This is a book about what it means to have love and pride in a place and how, against the odds, it may still be possible to build a new pastoral: not a utopia, but somewhere decent for us all.
Critic Reviews
“Remarkable.... A brilliant, beautiful book.... Eloquent, persuasive and electric with the urgency that comes out of love.” (Sunday Times)
“One of the most important books of our time. Anyone who cares about our land - indeed, anyone who buys food - should read this book. Told with humility and grace, this story of farming over three generations - where we went wrong and how we can change our ways - is at the forefront of a revolution. It will be our land’s salvation.” (Isabella Tree)
“A heartfelt book, and one that dares to hope.” (Alan Bennett)
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What listeners say about English Pastoral
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- louisecross
- 07-10-2020
beyond excellent
book of the year
if I could make people listen to one book...this is it.
if you eat and breath you should read this
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- Mark Henwood
- 14-06-2021
Thoughtful and Passionately Written
Thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the descriptions of the farm. Also learned a great deal about farming.
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- Patti Wagner
- 24-09-2020
A beautiful story
A beautiful story of a farmer’s journey to rediscover what was part of his heritage. James Rebanks shares his memories n such a way that you are transported to the Fells and Becks of his Cumbrian farm.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-11-2020
This book will go down in history... Superb
Exquisitely written account of the most important story of our times. Wish every policy maker, consumer and big Ag executive would read.
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- James Evans
- 23-11-2023
exceptional, emotional, inspirational.
everyone should listen to this. we are saving money every year on industrial food by taking from the natural diversity of our world. people don't think about where their food comes from, or how it got here. with the free money we have, we're buying more rubbish, creating more waste, spending more on housing. The things that matter the things that we need, are being made cheaply, but worse they are being undervalued.
The best quote, from the book, sums this up " they know the price of it, but not the value."
we all need to recognise the cost of industrial farming, and the value of ecological farming, of sustainable farming.
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