Pastoral Song: A Farmer's Journey
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A celebrated account detailing the rejuvenation of a traditional English farm
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Winner of the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing * Named "Nature Book of the Year" by the Sunday Times * New York Times Editors' Choice * Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize and the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize * A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Sunday Times, Financial Times, New Statesman, Independent, Telegraph, Observer, and Daily Mail
"Exceptionally well-written and profoundly insightful, the book enthralls the reader until the culmination of the journey." — Wall Street Journal
James Rebanks, renowned author of The Shepherd’s Life, offers a portrait of his family’s farm spanning three generations. Through this intimate lens, he unveils the extensive global transformation of agriculture and the evolving human connection to the land.
In his youth, Rebanks's grandfather imparted the traditional farming methods. Their family farm in the hills of England's Lake District was part of an ancient agricultural tapestry—a blend of crops, meadows, grazed pastures, and hedgerows brimming with wildlife. Yet, when James inherited the farm, it had undergone a staggering transformation. People had vanished from the fields, the old stone barns had crumbled, and the skies had emptied of birds and their melodic songs.
Acclaimed as "a brilliant, beautiful book" by the Sunday Times (London), Pastoral Song (published as English Pastoral in the United Kingdom) narrates a tale of inheritance with global ramifications. It recounts the near-collapse of rural landscapes worldwide, the loss of age-old rhythms tied to work, weather, community, and the natural world. However, this elegy from the northern fells also carries a melody of hope—a narrative of how, inspired by the past, one farmer embarked on salvaging a small corner of England. He endeavored to restore the vanished life, leaving behind a legacy for the future.
This book explores the profound meaning of love and pride for a place and challenges the odds by suggesting that it might still be feasible to cultivate a new pastoral—perhaps not a utopia, but a decent space for all.
