Shortlisted for the Wainwright Golden Beer Book Prize 2018
Neil Ansell'sThe Last Wildernessis a mesmerising book on nature and solitude by a writer who has spent his lifetime taking solitary ventures into the wild; a perfect read for anyone who has enjoyed Robert Macfarlane's The Old Ways or William Atkins The Moor.
The experience of being in nature alone is here set within the context of a series of walks that Neil Ansell takes into the most remote parts of Britain,the rough bounds in the Scottish Highlands. He illustrates the impact of being alone as part of nature,rather than outside it.
As a counterpoint,Neil Ansell also writes of the changes in the landscape,and how his hearing loss affects his relationship with nature as the calls of the birds he knows so well become silent to him.
For any readers drawn into the author's previous book,Deep Country - a mesmeric,beautifully written account of the author's five years of isolated living on a remote Welsh hillside - this will be a welcome return. Readers coming newly to his work,will find an author whose words resonate with a unique understanding of the natural world and how human lives can be shaped and changed by it.
'A gem of a book,an extraordinary tale. Ansell's rich prose will transport you to a real life Narnian world that C.S.Lewis would have envied. Find your deepest,most comfortable armchair and get away from it all'- Countryfile
Publisher: Headline Publishing GroupISBN: 9781472247124Number of pages: 320Weight: 230 gDimensions: 200 x 130 x 19 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Lyrical,thought-provoking'- The Scotsman
'Ansell has the rare skill of combining vividly the intimacy of detail and the astonishing grandeur of this North West coastline of Scotland. Through his keen eyes we look again at the familiar with a sense of wondrous revelation'- Madeleine Bunting
'The Last Wilderness is a moving and mesmerising book. Ansell's quiet,respectful immersion in the landscape rewards with some startling encounters with the natural world. He is a knowledgeable and generous guide to the unique flora and fauna of this beautiful corner of Scotland'- James Macdonald Lockhart,author of Raptor'
'Neil Ansell is a genuine creature of the wild. His knowledge of remote places,and his love for them,come from deep and sustained immersion. He writes in prose which is entirely right for its subject - unshowy,level-headed,quietly surprising. The Last Wilderness is a wonderful experience which tingles with all the sensations of being out on the hill,in all weathers,alone'- Philip Marsden
'A beautifully-written account of the author's journeys to some of the most remote parts of Britain in search of solitude and solace.'- Choice
'Beautifully charts the challenges and solaces of being alone and part of nature.'- The Bookseller
'A love letter to Scotland...how I wish I could go back to Arisaig and the Small Isles. How much I missed,but how glad I am to experience it now with this wonderful writer.'- My Weekly
Neil Ansell
An award-winning television journalist and author whose work merges nature writing and literary memoir,Neil Ansell is the author of Deep Country: Five Years in the Welsh Hills,Deer Island and The Last Wilderness.
Visit the Neil Ansell author page
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