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The Living Mountain: A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland (Canons)
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.
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.
Editorial Reviews
The finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain (Guardian)
A masterpiece . . . Amongst the greatest works of nature writing to come out of Britain (Chitra Ramaswamy The Scotsman)
Most works of mountain literature are written by men, and most of them focus on the goal of the summit. Nan Shepherd's aimless, sensual exploration of the Cairngorms is bracingly different (Robert Macfarlane)
A masterpiece . . . Amongst the greatest works of nature writing to come out of Britain (Chitra Ramaswamy The Scotsman)
Most works of mountain literature are written by men, and most of them focus on the goal of the summit. Nan Shepherd's aimless, sensual exploration of the Cairngorms is bracingly different (Robert Macfarlane)
Readers Top Reviews
Juan S. MontesBryn G
It is an excellent meditation about mountains and their elements: water, wind, snow, and others. Well written, with love and time.
ECM
A gift for a Scottish friend that loved the book she read while sipping Scottish tea and Scotty cookies I included. A real gift hit for a Gal with everything.
Frederic Tate
If you want high adventure, so watch a Starwars movie. This is a lovely book about a woman's relationship with a mountain and nature. A gentle read that is heartwarming, especially in a time when we are slaves to our electronics and busy schedules. Highly recommended.
Maethelwine
I love this book, and I’m puzzled by some of the low starring reviewers irritated by the fact that it isn’t a travel guide to the Cairngorms. It is, as the author writes, “a tale of my traffic with a mountain.” It’s a 108 page meditation on encounter, and as others here testify, it’s extraordinarily beautiful. I only have two complaints, and neither of them have anything to do with Nan Shepherd’s writing. First, Robert Macfarlane’s ponderous introduction nearly drove me away from the book with horsewhips and clouds of biting flies before I had ever reached a single word of the author’s own gracious prose. Also, I can’t tell you how irrationally bothered I am by the fact that my Canongate edition has a photograph of an American pronghorn antelope on the cover. Love the animal, but it doesn’t belong here. I guess someone thought any four-legged thing standing in the snow would do.
Momatthebeach
Shepherd gives us a small volume that reads large. She contrasts her experiences in the Cairngorms with those of climbers intent on conquering the peaks. She describes her lifetime of walks as going "into" the mountain, and finding there joy, mystery and being. I will return to this slim volume again.
