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The Living Mountain

A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland
4.28 goodreads logo

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( 8,609 ratings, 1,190 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd is an evocative exploration of the Cairngorm Mountains in Scotland. Shepherd reflects on the beauty, climate, and wildlife of the region, intertwining her personal experiences with philosophical musings on nature. This timeless meditation celebrates the intricate relationship between humans and the natural world.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you have a love for nature and appreciate poetic, meditative reflections on the natural world. It offers an intimate exploration of the Cairngorm Mountains, immersing you in vivid imagery and profound connections with the landscape. Perfect for those who find solace in the beauty and intricacy of the earth's wonders.

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A beautiful, collectible gift edition of the masterpiece of Scottish nature writing. Introduced by Robert Macfarlane and with an afterword by Jeanette Winterson.

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

'The finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain.' - Guardian

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.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Nan Shepherd's The Living Mountain is praised as a brilliant exploration of nature and landscape in Britain, focusing on a sensual journey through the Cairngorms. It diverges from typical mountain literature by highlighting the immersive experience rather than the summit goal. The book is described as transformative, with language that evokes awe and is reminiscent of an incantation. Influencing modern nature writers, it is viewed as a masterpiece of nature writing, blending memoir, field notes, and lyrical meditation.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781786897350

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 01 August 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Canongate Books

Edition: Main

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Robert Macfarlane
  • Afterword by Jeanette Winterson
  • Introduction by Robert Macfarlane

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 144.0mm

Height: 220.0mm

Weight: 298g

Pages: 176

About the Author

Anna (Nan) Shepherd was born in 1893 and died in 1981. Closely attached to Aberdeen and her native Deeside, she graduated from her home university in 1915 and for the next forty-one years worked as a lecturer in English. An enthusiastic gardener and hill-walker, she made many visits to the Cairngorms with students and friends. She also travelled further afield - to Norway, France, Italy, Greece and South Africa - but always returned to the house where she was raised and where she lived almost all of her adult life, in the village of West Cults, three miles from Aberdeen on North Deeside. To honour her legacy, in 2016, Nan Shepherd was added to the Royal Bank of Scotland five-pound note.

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