Overview

The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lost Rainforests of Britain reveals how landowners wreck the countryside, and how the public can restore it 'Brave and brilliant’ George Monbiot ‘Urgent and essential … should be required reading’ Caroline Lucas For centuries we’ve been sold a lie: that you need to own the land to care for it. Just 1% of the population own half of England, and this tiny landowning elite like to present themselves as the rightful custodians of the countryside. They’re even paid billions of pounds of public money to be good stewards. But what happens when they just don’t care? A small number of landowners have laid waste to some of our most treasured landscapes, leaving our forests bare, our rivers polluted, our moorlands burned, and our fenlands drained. Here Guy Shrubsole journeys all over Britain to expose the damage done to our land, and meet the communities fighting back: the river guardians, small farmers and trespassing activists restoring our lost wildlife. Full of rage and hope, this is a bold vision for our nation’s wild places, and how we can treat them with the awe and attention they deserve. It’s time to demand better for nature. We can start by replacing the lie of the land with a profound truth: that any of us can care for the countryside, regardless of whether you own it. 'The unjust impositions of historic land ownership blight all our lives – here Guy shows why’ Chris Packham 'Both dynamite and medicine' Amy-Jane Beer

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9780008651770

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Reviews

'The unjust impositions of historic land ownership blight all our lives – here Guy shows why’ Chris Packham 'Exhilarating, insightful and bristling with rightful indignation' Lee Schofield ‘A heartfelt, historically resonant call to reject the myth that private landownership delivers good stewardship of nature' Corinne Fowler ‘If you care about our environment, read this book’ Sir John Lawton CBE FRS ‘This book beautifully subverts the central orthodoxy of England, that owning land is the only way to care for it’ Nick Hayes ‘At once shocking and comforting, scathing and uplifting. A book on this subject shouldn't be so readable. A triumph’ Sophie Pavelle ‘Shrubsole has the belly fire of a campaigner but the precision of an historian.’ Roger Mortlock, Chief Executive of CPRE ‘Unlike earlier revolutionaries, this Guy has a smart, peaceful and practical plan for how we can turn this land into our land’ Patrick Barkham ‘Who really cares for the countryside? Guy does. His articulate fervour, seasoned with humour, shouts from every page. He throws down a timely gauntlet to centuries of tradition’ Tom Heap ‘Extraordinary. An affirmation of another kind of rural life that exists within this lie, and all the possibilities that are open to us if we defy it’ Nicola Chester ‘A rousing call to action that proposes practical interventions for how management of the countryside could – and should – be improved for the benefit of both people and environment’ Claire Ratinon 'Radical and urgent, measured and considered … an essential place to start’ Dr Rose O’Neill, Chief Executive, Campaign for National Parks

‘Brave and brilliant. Guy Shrubsole tackles a subject as crucial as it is neglected, and succeeds magnificently’ George Monbiot ‘A bold, new social contract between landowner and landless. Essential reading’ Marion Shoard ‘If you care about our environment, read this book’ Sir John Lawton CBE FRS ‘This book beautifully subverts the central orthodoxy of England, that owning land is the only way to care for it’ Nick Hayes, author of The Book of Trespass ‘Exhilarating, insightful and bristling with rightful indignation’ Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell ‘A heartfelt, historically resonant call to reject the myth that private landownership delivers good stewardship of nature … asks nature lovers to act now before it's too late’ Corinne Fowler, author of Our Island Stories ‘The land we love is ailing. Guy Shrubsole makes clear why — and how the healing can begin. This unflinching, illuminating book manages to be both dynamite and medicine’ Amy-Jane Beer, author of The Flow ‘At once shocking and comforting, scathing and uplifting. A book on this subject shouldn't be so readable. A triumph’ Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not ‘Shrubsole has the belly fire of a campaigner but the precision of an historian. This book should be on the reading list of any new Secretary of State thinking about land use’ Roger Mortlock, Chief Executive of CPRE ‘A groundplan to recover England’s green and pleasant land’ Alastair McIntosh, author of Soil and Soul

'A fascinating exposé' The i 'Exhilarating, insightful and bristling with rightful indignation' Lee Schofield 'The unjust impositions of historic land ownership blight all our lives – here Guy shows why’ Chris Packham 'What a book! Vitally important, and superbly written' Aaron Bastani ‘Shrubsole has the belly fire of a campaigner but the precision of an historian’ Roger Mortlock, Chief Executive of CPRE ‘A heartfelt, historically resonant call to reject the myth that private landownership delivers good stewardship of nature' Corinne Fowler ‘A smart, peaceful and practical plan for how we can turn this land into our land’ Patrick Barkham ‘If you care about our environment, read this book’ Sir John Lawton CBE FRS ‘This book beautifully subverts the central orthodoxy of England, that owning land is the only way to care for it’ Nick Hayes 'This is Guy Shrubsole’s best book yet' Mark Avery ‘Guy Shrubsole asserts the right of the majority to engage in what happens to land. As England struggles with its post-Brexit identity, the lie of the land matters deeply’ Tim Lang ‘At once shocking and comforting, scathing and uplifting. A book on this subject shouldn't be so readable. A triumph’ Sophie Pavelle ‘Who really cares for the countryside? Guy does. His articulate fervour, seasoned with humour, shouts from every page. He throws down a timely gauntlet to centuries of tradition’ Tom Heap ‘Extraordinary. An affirmation of another kind of rural life that exists within this lie, and all the possibilities that are open to us if we defy it’ Nicola Chester ‘A rousing call to action that proposes practical interventions for how management of the countryside could – and should – be improved for the benefit of both people and environment’ Claire Ratinon 'Radical and urgent, measured and considered … an essential place to start’ Dr Rose O’Neill, Chief Executive, Campaign for National Parks

PRAISE FOR THE LOST RAINFORESTS OF BRITAIN: ‘Remarkable … Shrubsole has completely changed the way many people look at the temperate woodlands that remain in parts of western Britain’ Financial Times ‘If anyone was born to save Britain’s rainforests, it was Guy Shrubsole’ Sunday Times, The Sunday Times Science Book of the Year ‘Fascinating, lyrical … A celebration of these dazzling worlds and a plea to act before they are extinguished’ The Times ‘[The Lost Rainforests of Britain] could be a lament but instead it is suffused with the irrepressible positivity and cheerful enthusiasm of a born campaigner’ Patrick Barkham, Guardian ‘Enchanting and insightful … Wonderfully evocative’ Geographical ‘Excellent … Inspiring’ Unherd ‘A treasure chest full of woodland jewels, rare, precious and beautiful’ Chris Packham ‘A magnificent and crucial book that opens our eyes to untold wonders’ George Monbiot ‘A beautiful, lyrical and urgent book … I cannot recommend it enough’ Nick Hayes, author of the Sunday Times-bestselling The Book of Trespass ‘Utterly enchanting, transporting and spellbinding … A rallying cry for restoring the rainforests of Britain urgently, and an inspiring and informative must-read for anyone interested in rewilding and ecological restoration’ Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden ‘Passionate, powerful, political and practicable, Guy Shrubsole gives us a blueprint for how to bring our missing rainforests back to life in all their riotous, tangled glory. Impeccably researched, convincingly argued and with generous measures of joyful discovery, this really is a spectacular book’ Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell

‘Brave and brilliant. Guy Shrubsole tackles a subject as crucial as it is neglected, and succeeds magnificently’ George Monbiot ‘This book beautifully subverts the central orthodoxy of England, that owning land is the only way to care for it. Rather than being against landowners, its message is one of hope and inclusion for every one of us, that the welfare of the land has always been the interest, expertise and responsibility of its communities’ Nick Hayes, author of The Book of Trespass ‘Guy Shrubsole has done it again, shining his blazing torch on the injustice and greed that twists the natural world out of shape. Exhilarating, insightful and bristling with rightful indignation, this is a book that will ignite the debate about our broken relationship with the land like never before’ Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell 'Shrubsole sets out a bold, new social contract between landowner and landless to address the challenges of the 21st century. Authoritative and well-researched, this is a most important book, essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of an environment we must – somehow – all share' Marion Shoard 'A groundplan to recover England’s green and pleasant land' Alastair McIntosh, author of Soil and Soul

Author Information

Guy Shrubsole is a writer and environmental campaigner. He has worked for Rewilding Britain, Friends of the Earth, the UK government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and New Zealand's Ministry of Agriculture. He has written widely for publications including the Guardian and New Statesman. His first book, Who Owns England?, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller.

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