The Secret History of Here A Year in the Valley
- 2 Jun 2022
- 9781838851149
- £10.99
- 384 pp
- 129×198mm
- 3 Jun 2021
- 9781838851156
- £8.79
- 384 pp
In a few words
A personal investigation into the history that surrounds us, from the historian and award-winning author of The Hidden Ways
In a few words
A personal investigation into the history that surrounds us, from the historian and award-winning author of The Hidden Ways
[Moffat] is a great teacher . . . Alert though he is to change and to the world we have lived into, he is forever in search of time that is lost and can be recovered. It is also enthralling . . . Moffat is aware that he will himself come in time to belong to the past. This book, like his earlier ones, should ensure that in a sense he survives
It’s the spirit of Moffat’s place which gives The Secret History of Here its heft . . . The book is written in the form of a diary. It follows the march of the seasons – how could it not? – and allows Moffat to delve into both his family history and the history of the Borders landscape
[Moffat] is a great teacher . . . Alert though he is to change and to the world we have lived into, he s forever in search of time that is lost and can be recovered. It is also enthralling . . . Moffat is aware that he will himself come in time to belong to the past. This book, like his earlier ones, should ensure that in a sense he survives
Joyous . . . a delightful meditation on a place, and on the role that humans played in its evolution
More about
the book
The Secret History of Here is the story of a single place in the Scottish Borders. The site on which Alistair Moffat’s farm now stands has been occupied since prehistoric times. Walking this landscape you can feel the presence and see the marks of those who lived here before.
But it is also the story of everywhere. In uncovering the history of one piece of land, Moffat shows how history is all around us, if only we have the eyes to see it. Taking the form of a journal of a year, this is a walk through the centuries as much as the seasons, offering a glimpse into the lives of those who came before, as well as those who live here now.
More about
the book
The Secret History of Here is the story of a single place in the Scottish Borders. The site on which Alistair Moffat’s farm now stands has been occupied since prehistoric times. Walking this landscape you can feel the presence and see the marks of those who lived here before.
But it is also the story of everywhere. In uncovering the history of one piece of land, Moffat shows how history is all around us, if only we have the eyes to see it. Taking the form of a journal of a year, this is a walk through the centuries as much as the seasons, offering a glimpse into the lives of those who came before, as well as those who live here now.
Joyous . . . a delightful meditation on a place, and on the role that humans played in its evolution
Delightful and richly personal . . . The charm of this book is that it is rooted in Moffat’s lived experience. But, in his gracious humility, he sees himself as just one more [of] 300 generations
Praise for To the Island of Tides:
[To the Island of Tides] is often beautifully evocative of places, the past and the landscape . . . compelling and revealing
Written with both wisdom and love . . . This is a wonderfully rich and consoling book . . . and it is very good indeed
Delightful and richly personal . . . The charm of this book is that it is rooted in Moffat’s lived experience. But, in his gracious humility, he sees himself as just one more [of] 300 generations
Praise for To the Island of Tides:
[To the Island of Tides] is often beautifully evocative of places, the past and the landscape . . . compelling and revealing
Written with both wisdom and love . . . This is a wonderfully rich and consoling book . . . and it is very good indeed
Extraordinary . . . a triumph . . . This book is an intriguing account of St Cuthbert and his times, a lyrical testimony to the wonder of nature and a beguiling account of the power of place in all lives. But . . . it becomes something more, something sublime in the realm of memoir . . . There is a powerful, natural beauty in Moffat's writing
