I’ve been a bit slow with sharing my England book haul from my trip at the end of May! Last month I shared the YA/Middle Grade books I purchased and today I’m sharing my non-fiction finds. Four of these I picked up because of their beautiful covers, but it was the descriptions that sold me. They are books about gardening and nature, something the Brits do well! The fifth is historical and also works as a great souvenir from my favorite museum we visited in London.
Skymeadow: Notes from and English Gardener by Charlie Hart
This was one of my first purchases I made on my trip. We stumbled upon a small bookshop in Stow-on-the-Wold (in the Cotswolds) and I picked up my first three purchases. There was a full section on gardening and nature; I loved that there weren’t just how-to books, but also memoirs! The description of this one drew me in since gardening has many times been an act of therapy for me. I love to get in the dirt, appreciate the beauty and tune out the spinning world around me.
Summary from the publisher:
When Charlie Hart first visited Peverels, a small farmhouse that sits lazily on the lip of a hill running down into the Peb Valley, he was at breaking point, grieving the loss of his father and anxious about the impending death of his mother. He and his wife Sybilla felt that their London life had been steadily growing in noise: the noise of grief, the noise of busyness, the noise that comes from the expectations of others and, for Charlie, the constant clamour of dissatisfaction at work.
At Peverels, Charlie found an expanse of untouched meadowland, the perfect setting for an audacious garden. Charlie felt an unquenchable urge to dig, to create something. The days he spent wrestling with the soil in the rose garden were the days in which he mourned the loss of his parents. Gardening has taught him that you can dig for victory, but you can also dig for mental health. As the garden formed around Charlie, he buried his fears and anxieties within it. A garden that is now known as Skymeadow and grows with a lusty, almost biblical vigour.
Publisher: Constable
ISBN: 9781472128768
Get it at: Amazon or Book Depository
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
I think I saw The Salt Path at every bookstore I went to. I picked it up and put it down countless times. It wasn’t till one of the last few days of our trip that I actually stopped and read the description. I’ve always been intrigued by long walking journeys- The Pacific Crest Trail, Camino de Santiago, etc. I’m looking forward to learning more about the South West Coast Path.
Summary from publisher: The true story of a couple who lost everything and embarked on a transformative journey walking the South West Coast Path in England
Just days after Raynor Winn learns that Moth, her husband of thirty-two years, is terminally ill, their house and farm are taken away, along with their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, through Devon and Cornwall.
Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea, and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter, and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable and life-affirming journey. Powerfully written and unflinchingly honest, The Salt Path is ultimately a portrayal of home—how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.
Publisher: Michael Joseph
ISBN: 9781405937184
Get it at: Amazon or Book Depository
I think I may possibly like the US edition even more: 9780143134114
The Nature of Spring by Jim Crumley
To be perfectly honest, this one I bought 90% because of the cover. It’s gorgeous and clothbound and it wasn’t a difficult decision for me to add it to my to-buy stack. Even after reading the summary I’m still not really sure what to expect, but I’m looking forward to finding out!
Summary from the publisher: Spring is nature’s season of rebirth and rejuvenation. Earth’s northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun, winter yields to intensifying light and warmth, and a wild, elemental beauty transforms the Highland landscape and a repertoire of islands from Colonsay to Lindisfarne.
Jim Crumley chronicles the wonder, tumult and spectacle of that transformation, but he shows too that it is no Wordsworthian idyll that unfolds. Climate chaos brings unwanted drama to the lives of badger and fox, seal and seabird and raptor, pine marten and sand martin. Jim lays bare the impact of global warming and urges us all towards a more daring conservation vision that embraces everything from the mountain treeline to a second spring for the wolf.
Note: This book is part of a “Seasons” quartet. The Nature of Winter and The Nature of Autumn are also available (and equally beautiful!).
Publisher: Saraband
ISBN: 9781912235377
Get it at: Amazon or Book Depository
A Farmer’s Diary: A Year at High House Farm by Sally Urwin
This was another of my early purchases. I didn’t want to pack around hardbacks my whole trip, but sometimes a book sounds so good that you can’t pass it up. I read a few excerpts from this one in the bookshop and was laughing to myself… sold.
Summary from publisher: Sally Urwin and her husband Steve own High House Farm in Northumberland, which they share with two kids, Mavis the Sheepdog, one very Fat Pony, and many, many sheep. Set in a beautiful, wild landscape, and in use for generations, it’s perfect for Sally’s honest and charming account of farming life.
From stock sales to lambing sheds, out in the fields in driving snow and on hot summer days, A Farmer’s Diary reveals the highs, lows and hard, hard work involved in making a living from the land. Filled with grit and humour, newborn lambs and local characters, this is the perfect book for anyone who has ever wondered what it’s like on the other side of the fence.
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 9781788160698
Get it at: Amazon or Book Depository
Why Britain is at War by Harold Nicholson
At the top of my husband and my London to-do list was visiting the Churchill War Rooms. The visit certainly did not disappoint! It was so interesting and well displayed. I found this reprint of a 1939 Penguin Special in the gift shop and thought it would be the perfect souvenir. I’ve always been interested in WWII history, so I’m looking forward to reading this.
Summary from the publisher: “If we in Great Britain are resolute and wise there will emerge from this catastrophe something which may well give hope to the world” First published in 1939 as a Penguin Special, this is the original best-selling account of why Britain went to war with Germany. In simple terms it describes the stages of Adolf Hitler’s ruthless pursuit for power, identifies his methods of deception and false diplomacy, and details his terrifying use of force that rendered peaceful negotiation increasingly difficult, and finally impossible. Shining a light on Hitler’s early life and character, Harold Nicolson reveals the dictator’s political theories in Mein Kampf, and explains the strategies he adopted in seizing the Rhineland, Austria, Czechoslovakia and later Poland. Written with clarity and insight, and read widely by soldiers during World War II, the final message of hope and peace is as relevant today as it was in 1939. This facsimile edition includes a new introduction by Andrew Roberts, best-selling author of The Storm of War; Masters and Commanders and Hitler and Churchill: Secrets of Leadership.
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 9780141048963
Get it at: Amazon or Book Depository
Which of these books would you reach for first?
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England Book Haul: Non-Fiction
