The Living Mountain
The Living Mountain
'Most works of mountain literature are written by men, and most of them focus on the goal of the summit. Nan Shepherd's aimless, sensual exploration of the Cairngorms is bracingly different.' - Robert Macfarlane
In this masterpiece of nature writing, Nan Shepherd describes her journeys into the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. There she encounters a world that can be breathtakingly beautiful at times and shockingly harsh at others.
Her intense, poetic prose explores and records the rocks, rivers, creatures and hidden aspects of this remarkable landscape. Shepherd spent a lifetime in search of the 'essential nature' of the Cairngorms; her quest led her to write this classic meditation on the magnificence of mountains, and on our imaginative relationship with the wild world around us.
Composed during the Second World War, the manuscript of The Living Mountain lay untouched for more than thirty years before it was finally published.
Why Novel North Recommends
‘An inspiration to engage with the majesty and intricacies of the natural world. Nan Shepherd’s writing is evocative and observed, taking us with her to peaks, inlets and glass like surfaces. It’s a nourishing read, capturing the vibrancy of seasons, even in the seemingly dreariest of moments. An invitation to pause.’
Author : Nan Shepherd
Edition : Canongate, Paperback, 114 pages
ISBN : 9780857861832
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'And all of a sudden the world was strange
With the strangeness of things that seem
More familiar the more they change,
Like the queer, familiar forms that range
Through the wide lands of dream.'
- Nan Shepherd, The Flood
In Shepherd's only poetry collection, she captures the essence of what is to be in the isolation and wilderness of Scotland's breathtaking Cairngorms, her words speaking to the soul of anyone who loves to explore the outdoors.
Author : Nan Shepherd
Edition : Galileo Paperback, 64 pages
ISBN : 9781903385333