Common Ground

One of the most original books of 2015. – Melissa Harrison * Books of the Year, The Times *Bold and beautiful. – Robert Macfarlane * New Statesman *Cracking… Vividly and movingly described… Cowen writes very well. – Alan Bennett * London Review of Books *Absolutely mesmerising, utterly beautiful, utterly engrossing – it takes a lot for a book to give me goosebumps but this one did. – Joanne Harris * Simon Mayo Drivetime BBC Radio 2 *[A] multi-faceted, touched-by-genius exploration of a stretch of Harrogate wasteland. – John Lewis-Stempel * Sunday Express, Books of the Year *Marks out Cowen as a new writer who is both entertaining and significant… Cowen’s descriptive writing is visceral and gripping… and his attention to colour is particularly striking. – Richard Benson * Independent *Magical… Deeply original… a detailed nature study [and] a moving memoir… I became both intrigued and enchanted by this hybrid approach. – Sara Maitland * Countryfile magazine, Book of the Month *Highly poetic… like an archaeologist, Cowen unearths histories, natural life and decayed infrastructure in a small area bordering the River Nidd… Above all, Common Ground is about the transformative power of this unnoticed piece of land, if one can only stand and stare for long enough’ – Serena Tarling * Financial Times *Highly poetic… like an archaeologist, Cowen unearths histories, natural life and decayed infrastructure in a small area bordering the River Nidd… Above all, Common Ground is about the transformative power of this unnoticed piece of land, if one can only stand and stare for long enough’ – Serena Tarling * Financial Times *Sensitive, thoughtful and poetic. Rob Cowen rakes over a scrap of land with forensic care, leading us into a whole new way of looking at the world. – Michael Palin

Rob Cowen is an award-winning writer and author, hailed as one of the UK’s most original voices on nature, place and people. His first book, Skimming Stones, won the Roger Deakin Award from the Society of Authors. His second book, Common Ground, was shortlisted for the Portico, Richard Jefferies Society and Wainwright Prizes and voted one of the nation’s favourite nature books of all time in a BBC poll. His follow-up, The Heeding, was the best-selling debut book of poetry in 2021. Rob has contributed to the New York Times, the Guardian and the Independent and written radio programmes for the BBC. He lives in North Yorkshire.

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