WIN $150 GIFT VOUCHERS: ALADDIN'S GOLD
Philippa Harrison had a long and distinguished career in publishing: she was chief executive and publisher of Little, Brown UK and the first female president of the Publishers Association. She comes from a long line of farmers in the Furness fells, and lives in the same vicarage that Canon Rawnsley lived in when he co-founded the National Trust.
'What a tour de force, tour de Lake District, tour of our social history these 1000 years, yet Philippa Harrison has confined herself to just one parish, Great Crosthwaite, Keswick. A large, rich parish, in every sense, just 90 square miles, yet it encompasses everything of Lakeland, from the famous peaks to the famous poets, places and people. Has there ever been a parish history so well researched, so filled with history and literature, campaigns and causes, and so fascinating? No chance. This is a unique contribution to English history' -- Hunter Davies, author of Lakeland 'The fascinating story of Crosthwaite's ancient parish, set in the context of the wider history of the Lake District, told with passion ... Stimulating, wide-ranging and full of interest' -- Angus J L Winchester, Emeritus Professor of History, Lancaster University A delightful, refreshingly written book, attentive to social detail and telling the only story that matters - history' -- Simon Jenkins, Chairman of the National Trust 2008-2014 'A refreshing and thoroughly original history, which will surprise almost everyone who thought they knew their England: local and universal at the same time, it also gives a completely fresh perspective on the Lakes and Lake Poets ... I hugely enjoyed it' -- Andrew Marr 'I love Mountain Republic. Both intimate and authoritative, it is a wonderful book. The family portraits, in which Southey is rescued from near oblivion and given his due place amongst the Lake Poets, the agricultural detail, the historical sweep - all are brought together in a fine and gripping narrative' -- Margaret Drabble 'This remarkable chronicle introduces the reader to Christian missionaries, Anglo-Saxon and Norse invaders, Scottish royals, local gentry, the 'Eighteen Men', Romantic poets, a succession of clergy with widely and sometimes wildly diverse convictions, and the local people who shaped the land in which they were rooted as the land shaped them. With a rare combination of finely detailed erudition and engaging, elegant, page-turning prose, Philippa Harrison charts the evolution of the Lake District. Anyone who reads her narrative will be richly rewarded' -- Dr John Inge, Bishop of Worcester
