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Down Burrow Lane

The heartwarming true story of love, loss and a Devon farm that changed thousands of lives
Brief Description
'A warm, rich, generous book. A pleasure from first page to last.' KATHERINE RUNDELL'A moving, vulnerable portrait of love, nature and a life well-lived' RORY STEWART'Touching and extraordinary, this true story seems like a fairy tale' JOANNA LUMLEYThe long-awaited memoir of life and love on a... Read More
Format: Hardback
$5000
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Releases 29th December 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "Down Burrow Lane" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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The incredible memoir set on a magical farm in Devon, published on the 50th anniversary of Farms for City Children and set to be a modern classic

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'A warm, rich, generous book. A pleasure from first page to last.' KATHERINE RUNDELL
'A moving, vulnerable portrait of love, nature and a life well-lived' RORY STEWART
'Touching and extraordinary, this true story seems like a fairy tale' JOANNA LUMLEY

The long-awaited memoir of life and love on a Devon farm - Michael Morpurgo's most personal and moving book to date

Fifty years ago, Michael and Clare Morpurgo packed their young family into a car in London and set off for a remote farm in rural Devon, down a narrow track called Burrow Lane.

It was on this magical farm that Michael, then a young schoolteacher, became a writer. Over the years, it would inspire many of his best-loved books, including War Horse and Private Peaceful.

Here, Michael and Clare raised their family - and, in many ways, grew up themselves. They also welcomed more than 100,000 children from towns and cities to experience life in the countryside through their charity, Farms for City Children.

This is the remarkable love story of Michael and Clare, and an account of the joys and hardships of life on the farm across five decades: a journey through the seasons and years that shaped the land around them, and the lives of the children forever changed by their time there.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781399760089

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 17 September 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Hodder Press

Illustration: 15 integrated b/w illustrations

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 136.0mm

Height: 218.0mm

Weight: 400g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Michael Morpurgo is the award-winning author of more than 150 books, including Private Peaceful, Kensuke's Kingdom and War Horse, which became the most successful play in the National Theatre's history and a Golden Globe-nominated film directed by Steven Spielberg. He has won many literary prizes, including the Smarties Prize, the Writers' Guild Award, the Whitbread Award, and the Eleanor Farjeon Lifetime Achievement Award. Michael was Children's Laureate from 2003-2005, a role that took him across Britain to inspire a love of reading in children. Michael and his wife Clare founded Farms for City Children in 1976 at Nethercott Farm in Devon, and Michael has called the project his 'greatest story'. They aim to expand the horizons of children from towns and cities all over the country by offering them a week in the countryside living together on one of their farms.

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