The Shepherd's Life: A Tale of the Lake District

James Rebanks

Apr 2015 · Penguin UK

About this ebook

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

'Affectionate, evocative, illuminating. A story of survival - of a flock, a landscape and a disappearing way of life. I love this book' Nigel Slater

'Triumphant, a pastoral for the 21st century' Helen Davies, Sunday Times, Books of the Year

'The nature publishing sensation of the year, unsentimental yet luminous' Melissa Harrison, The Times, Books of the Year

Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years. A Viking would understand the work they do: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells.

Ratings and reviews

A prosaic look at a lifestyle that has continued for centuries but has been chronicalled by a few in poetry and prose. One man's fight with 'academia' versus experience turns out to be a well crafted novel delineating everyday life of a shepherd through seasons and years. Very enjoyable

I had no interest in sheep farming nor the Lake District but found this book charming, entertaining and informative, Written from the heart. It'll surprise you,

A beautiful read that should be a must for those who don't understand. A story that echoes through the ages and one I hope is never lost and forgotten

About the author

James Rebanks is a shepherd based in the Lake District. His first book, The Shepherd's Life, won The Lakeland Book of the Year 2015 and was shortlisted for both The Wainwright Prize and the Ondaatje Prize. Also known as the Herdwick Shepherd, his Twitter account of daily life in the Lakes has a strong international following. His family have lived and farmed in the Lake District for six hundred years.