Overview

The New York Times bestseller and International Phenomenon One of the Top Ten Books of 2015, Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times. ""It's bloody marvelous."" - Helen Macdonald, New York Times bestselling author of H IS FOR HAWK ""Captivating... A book about continuity and roots and a sense of belonging in an age that's increasingly about mobility and self-invention. Hugely compelling."" - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, his family have lived and worked in the Lake District of Northern England for generations, further back than recorded history. It's a part of the world known mainly for its romantic descriptions by Wordsworth and the much loved illustrated children's books of Beatrix Potter. But James' world is quite different. His way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand. It hasn't changed for hundreds of years: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the grueling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the hills and valleys. The Shepherd's Life the story of a deep-rooted attachment to place, modern dispatches from an ancient landscape that describe a way of life that is little noticed and yet has profoundly shaped the landscape over time. In evocative and lucid prose, James Rebanks takes us through a shepherd's year, offering a unique account of rural life and a fundamental connection with the land that most of us have lost. It is a story of working lives, the people around him, his childhood, his parents and grandparents, a people who exist and endure even as the culture - of the Lake District, and of farming - changes around them. Many memoirs are of people working desperately hard to leave a place. This is the story of someone trying desperately hard to stay.

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9781250060266

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<b>Captivating... A book about continuity and roots and a sense of belonging in an age that's increasingly about mobility and self-invention. Hugely compelling</b> Michiko Kakutani, <i>The New York Times</i></p> It's bloody marvelous. Helen Macdonald, New York Times bestselling author of H IS FOR HAWK</p> Rebanks s family has farmed sheep in the hills of the lake District, in northwestern England, for some six centuries. The work, detailed lovingly in this memoir, has changed little Rebanks is concerned with the survival of the landscape, of the life that it has fostered, and of its inhabitants view of the world. <i>The New Yorker</i></p> James Rebanks's unsentimental, sharply detailed memoir about his life as a shepherd in England's Lake District gripped me from the first page. <i>The Wall Street Journal</i></p> James Rebanks s The Shepherd s Life stands in blissful earthbound contrast. Farming the high fells of the Lake District, the first son of a shepherd, who was himself the first son of a shepherd, Mr. Rebanks writes with loving eloquence about a kind of deep-rooted life that is all but lost in the developed world. Herdwick sheep, the local breed, are set free to graze on unfenced commons and could head off to Scotland were they not hefted tied to their home range by invisible bonds of instinct and inheritance. Mr. Rebanks is himself hefted to his land and deftly conveys the worth and beauty of such a connection. - Geraldine Brooks</p> A gorgeous book, unsentimental but exultant, vivid and profound, and a fierce defense of small-scale farming against the twin threats of agribusiness and tourism. <i>National Geographic</i></p> A powerful - and quietly electrifying - meditation on the gruelling truth of rural life... Rebanks' prose is beautifully sure-footed. <i>The Sunday Times (UK)</i></p> Rebanks' enthusiasm and talent for poetic writing is infectious... [His] words create not only a gorgeous landscape painting of the Lake District and its inhabitants, human, animal, bird and fish, but also a useful social document... What is most striking about this book is its authenticity; this is the real thing. <i>The Times (UK)</i></p> Beautifully written Alan Cumming, New York Times Bestselling author of NOT MY FATHER'S SON</p> May well do for sheep what Helen Macdonald did for hawks. <i>The Guardian (UK)</i></p> Superstar Shepherd. <i>The Daily Mail (UK)</i></p> Affectionate, evocative, illuminating. A story of survival - of a flock, a landscape and a disappearing way of life. I love this book Nigel Slater, author of the internationally bestselling Toast: The Story of a Boy s Hunger and Tender</p> Rebanks writes about his native Lake District with a loving eye for its past and present, its working denizens--humans, dogs, sheep--who continue to shape our picture of what Pastoralism is. Brad Kessler, author of Goat Song</p> The Shepherd's Life weaves together the human history of the farmers with factual history of the farms, the spiritual pull of the land with the physical demands it makes, the cruelty and beauty, optimism and pragmatism of the most beautiful corner of the world. A vivid, honest, unforgettably written account not just of one shepherd's year, but of an ancient way of life. Lucy Dillon, author of LOST DOGS and LONELY HEARTS</p> THE SHEPHERD'S LIFE is a reader's delight. Rebanks lives, breathes, and works his landscape - which gives him an inside edge as sharp as shears over most of the flock of current countryside writers. He has written a marvelous autobiography - of himself, his family, and the hills themselves. John Lewis-Stempel, author of MEADOWLAND and YOUNG JAMES HERRIOT: THE MAKING OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS VET</p>

<b>Captivating... A book about continuity and roots and a sense of belonging in an age that's increasingly about mobility and self-invention. Hugely compelling</b> --Michiko Kakutani, <i>The New York Times</i></p> It's bloody marvelous. --Helen Macdonald, New York Times bestselling author of H IS FOR HAWK</p> Rebanks's family has farmed sheep in the hills of the lake District, in northwestern England, for some six centuries. The work, detailed lovingly in this memoir, has changed little... Rebanks is concerned with the survival of the landscape, of the life that it has fostered, and of its inhabitants' view of the world. --<i>The New Yorker</i></p> James Rebanks's unsentimental, sharply detailed memoir about his life as a shepherd in England's Lake District gripped me from the first page. --<i>The Wall Street Journal</i></p> James Rebanks's The Shepherd's Life stands in blissful earthbound contrast. Farming the high fells of the Lake District, the first son of a shepherd, who was himself the first son of a shepherd, Mr. Rebanks writes with loving eloquence about a kind of deep-rooted life that is all but lost in the developed world. Herdwick sheep, the local breed, are set free to graze on unfenced commons and could head off to Scotland were they not hefted --tied to their home range by invisible bonds of instinct and inheritance. Mr. Rebanks is himself hefted to his land and deftly conveys the worth and beauty of such a connection. - Geraldine Brooks</p> A gorgeous book, unsentimental but exultant, vivid and profound, and a fierce defense of small-scale farming against the twin threats of agribusiness and tourism. --<i>National Geographic</i></p> A powerful - and quietly electrifying - meditation on the gruelling truth of rural life... Rebanks' prose is beautifully sure-footed. --<i>The Sunday Times (UK)</i></p> Rebanks' enthusiasm and talent for poetic writing is infectious... [His] words create not only a gorgeous landscape painting of the Lake District and its inhabitants, human, animal, bird and fish, but also a useful social document... What is most striking about this book is its authenticity; this is the real thing. --<i>The Times (UK)</i></p> Beautifully written --Alan Cumming, New York Times Bestselling author of NOT MY FATHER'S SON</p> May well do for sheep what Helen Macdonald did for hawks. --<i>The Guardian (UK)</i></p> Superstar Shepherd. --<i>The Daily Mail (UK)</i></p> Affectionate, evocative, illuminating. A story of survival - of a flock, a landscape and a disappearing way of life. I love this book --Nigel Slater, author of the internationally bestselling Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger and Tender</p> Rebanks writes about his native Lake District with a loving eye for its past and present, its working denizens--humans, dogs, sheep--who continue to shape our picture of what Pastoralism is. --Brad Kessler, author of Goat Song</p> The Shepherd's Life weaves together the human history of the farmers with factual history of the farms, the spiritual pull of the land with the physical demands it makes, the cruelty and beauty, optimism and pragmatism of the most beautiful corner of the world. A vivid, honest, unforgettably written account not just of one shepherd's year, but of an ancient way of life. --Lucy Dillon, author of LOST DOGS and LONELY HEARTS</p> THE SHEPHERD'S LIFE is a reader's delight. Rebanks lives, breathes, and works his landscape - which gives him an inside edge as sharp as shears over most of the flock of current countryside writers. He has written a marvelous autobiography - of himself, his family, and the hills themselves. --John Lewis-Stempel, author of MEADOWLAND and YOUNG JAMES HERRIOT: THE MAKING OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS VET</p>

#1 National Bestseller#1 International BestsellerA New York Times Top Book of 2015A Guardian Best Book of the Year A Telegraph Best Book of 2015A Daily Express Best Book of 2015Shortlisted for the Portico Literature PrizeShortlisted for the Waterstones Book of the Year Award James Rebanks' The Shepherd's Life has been the surprise literary success. . . . His prose is eloquent and evocative, and possesses that priceless commodity: authenticity. . . . His success is undeniably romantic, and all the better for it. The Guardian (UK) [A] captivating book . . . a keenly observed account of the vocation handed down to Mr. Rebanks from his father and grandfather and their ancestors before them, and the seasonal rhythms and rituals that define life on a farm. Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Book Review I never imaginedI'd be absorbed by a book about sheep. But James Rebanks's unsentimental, sharply detailed memoir about his life as a shepherd in England's Lake District gripped me from the first page. . . . such a fine writer. The Wall Street Journal James Rebanks s captivating new book about his family s small sheep farm in England is also a book about continuity and roots and a sense of belonging in an age that s increasingly about mobility and self-invention Expertise and explanations of the craft and clockwork behind the ticktock of a profession is hugely compelling when described with ardor and elan, and Mr. Rebanks brings both to his account. Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times This wonderful book Rebanks s fascinating account of a year in his sheep-herding life Toronto Star An enlightening, exquisitely written account I was beguiled by this book, an eloquent love-letter to a cherished way of life Daily Mail (UK) It is a gorgeous book, unsentimental but exultant, vivid and profound Nationalgeographic.com A powerful - and quietly electrifying - meditation... Page by page, he builds what amounts to a 21st-century pastoral manifesto. The book is an unsentimental education, part history of farming in the Lake District, part personal memoir. And yet it still soars... Rebanks's prose is beautifully sure-footed. The Sunday Times (UK) Rebanks offers a fascinating account of his life in farming that is in equal parts memoir, social commentary and procedural. Even for the most committed urbanite, it s a brilliant read. The Observer (UK) A remarkable achievement... Utterly unsentimental, The Shepherd's Life is, nevertheless, profoundly moving. Financial Times (UK) Rebanks's enthusiasm and talent for poetic writing is infectious... [His] words create not only a gorgeous landscape painting of the Lake District and its inhabitants, human, animal, bird and fish, but also a useful social document... What is most striking about this book is its authenticity; this is the real thing. The Time s (UK) Engrossing tale of life on a Cumbrian fell farm A passionate plea about a way of life that has existed for centuries but is often invisible to the day-trippers Beautifully written. Rebanks brings out the dignity in simple honest hard work which isn t always valued in our society. Pick of the Week, BBC Radio 4 Exceptional... Rebanks's way with words is akin to that of that of an expert shearer with the clippers - swift, deft, skilled - and the resulting prose is lean, vivid, tough and handsome. I loved his book. It is one to restore faith in writing and the business of publishing - a story not like any other, told from the inside by someone whose passion for his subject lights up almost every sentence Literary Review (UK). A powerful first book. . . . compelling. . . . The Shepherd s Life is an unforgettable survivor s book that raises important questions. . . . It is also one of the most truthful depictions of contemporary rural life that I have read. The Independent (UK) Beautifully written. Alan Cumming, actor, author of Not My Father s Son. A timely and important book, with flashes of beauty in its spare and honest prose. Sadie Jones, author of The Uninvited Guests. Bloody marvelous. Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk. A vivid, honest, unforgettably written account not just of one shepherd's year, but of an ancient way of life. Lucy Dillon, author of A Hundred Pieces of Me In James Rebanks we hear a new voice from the fells. The toil and the beauty in The Shepherd's Life are utterly compelling. Nicholas Crane, author of Great British Journeys An absorbing, often funny, and beautifully written evocation of the landscape that is so much a part of Rebanks s life and who he is. It s also a different Lake District to that of Wordsworth and Wainwright and a testament to the importance of maintaining a connection to the land. The Observer Food Monthly (UK) May well do for sheep what Helen Macdonald did for hawks. Stephen Moss, Guardian The Shepherd s Life transports readers to an ageless world of honest relationships between farmers, their animals and the land. In this delightful memoir, James Rebanks tells a story steeped in centuries of tradition and reminds us that the authentic life that many of our parents and grandparents left behind is still possible. Andrew Peacock, author of Creatures of the Rock, A Veterinarian's Adventures In Newfoundland. The Shepherd s Life is a reader s delight. No tourist wandering the iconic Lake District is Rebanks; coming from centuries of farmers he is as hefted to the fells as the Herdwick sheep he keeps. He lives, breathes and works his landscape -- which gives him an inside edge as sharp as shears over most of the flock of current countryside-writers. Rebanks has written a marvelous autobiography of himself, his family, and thehills themselves. For they are indivisible. John Lewis-Stempel, author of Meadowland Affectionate, evocative, illuminating. A story of survival - of a flock, a landscape and a disappearing way of life. I love this book. Nigel Slater, author of Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger . All this is told with perfect pitch, in prose that flows as easily as speech, cleaves hungrily to the particular, and shifts without strain between the workaday and the imaginative. The Guardian (UK) As moving, truthful, and at times as poetic as anything you re likely to read satisfying on every level. Seattle Times The writing itself is exceptional, wonderfully descriptive but also at times blunt and tough and the book is a fierce defence of small-scale farming. This is in no way the musings of a dreamy environmentalist nor is it some sort of sentimental memoir. Rebanks tells it like it is. Irish Independent (Ireland) This outstanding debut exudes tough passion, and a sense of belonging and love that holds you rapt to the very last line: This is my life. I want no other. Intelligent Life Magazine From the Hardcover edition.

Author Information

James Rebanks runs a family-owned farm in the Lake District in northern England. A graduate of Oxford University, James works as an expert advisor to UNESCO on sustainable tourism. He uses his popular Twitter feed - @herdyshepherd1 - to share updates on the shepherding year. The Shepherd's Life is his first book.

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