Wanderland

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR UK NATURE WRITING

Alone on a remote mountaintop one dark night, a woman hears a mysterious voice.

Propelled by the memory and after years of dreaming about it, Jini Reddy dares to delve into the 'wanderlands' of Britain, heading off in search of the magical in the landscape.

A London journalist with multicultural roots and a perennial outsider, she determinedly sets off on this unorthodox path. Serendipity and her inner compass guide her around the country in pursuit of the Other and a connection to Britain's captivating natural world. Where might this lead? And if you know what it is to be Othered yourself, how might this colour your experiences? And what if, in invoking the spirit of the land, 'it' decides to make its presence felt?

Whether following a 'cult' map to a hidden well that refuses to reveal itself, attempting to persuade a labyrinth to spill its secrets, embarking on a coast-to-coast pilgrimage or searching for a mystical land temple, Jini depicts a whimsical, natural Britain. Along the way, she tracks down ephemeral wild art, encounters women who worship The Goddess, falls deeper in love with her birth land and struggles - but mostly fails - to get to grips with its lore. Throughout, she rejoices in the wildness we cannot see and celebrates the natural beauty we can, while offering glimpses of her Canadian childhood and her Indian parents' struggles in apartheid-era South Africa.

Wanderland is a book in which the heart leads, all things are possible and the Other, both wild and human, comes in from the cold. It is a paean to the joy of roaming, both figuratively and imaginatively, and to the joy of finding your place in the world.

Auteur

Jini Reddy is an award-winning author and journalist. Born in London to Indian parents from South Africa, she was raised in Montreal, Quebec, and now makes her home in the UK. Jini has a B.A. in Geography, an M.A. in English Literature and, increasingly, a passion for writing cross-genre, non-fiction narratives relating to landscape, travel, spirituality and culture. Her byline has appeared in the Guardian, TIME, The Times, The Sunday Times Style, The Sunday & Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, National Geographic Traveller, Resurgence & Ecologist and many other publications. Her first book, Wild Times, was published in 2016, and she is a contributor to the bestselling Winter: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons and Women on Nature.

Texte du rabat

Shortlisted for the 2021 Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award
Shortlisted for the 2020 Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing

Alone on a remote mountaintop one dark night, a woman hears a mysterious voice.

Propelled by the memory and after years of dreaming about it, Jini Reddy dares to delve into the 'wanderlands' of Britain, heading off in search of the magical in the landscape.

A London journalist with multicultural roots and a perennial outsider, she determinedly sets off on this unorthodox path. Serendipity and her inner compass guide her around the country in pursuit of the Other and a connection to Britain's captivating natural world. Where might this lead? And if you know what it is to be Othered yourself, how might this colour your experiences? And what if, in invoking the spirit of the land, 'it' decides to make its presence felt?

Whether following a 'cult' map to a hidden well that refuses to reveal itself, attempting to persuade a labyrinth to spill its secrets, embarking on a coast-to-coast pilgrimage or searching for a mystical land temple, Jini depicts a whimsical, natural Britain. Along the way, she tracks down ephemeral wild art, encounters women who worship The Goddess, falls deeper in love with her birth land and struggles - but mostly fails - to get to grips with its lore. Throughout, she rejoices in the wildness we cannot see and celebrates the natural beauty we can, while offering glimpses of her Canadian childhood and her Indian parents' struggles in apartheid-era South Africa.

Wanderland is a book in which the heart leads, all things are possible and the Other, both wild and human, comes in from the cold. It is a paean to the joy of roaming, both figuratively and imaginatively, and to the joy of finding your place in the world.

Contenu

What Happens Up the Mountain Doesn't Always Stay Up the Mountain
Beginnings
To the Oracle on the Sea
The Lost Spring
Walking through Woods and Pain
A Woman of the Old Ways
The Secret Place of the Wild Strawberries - Part I
The Tree Whisperer
A Pilgrimage Walk in a Land of Giants
Lost in Glastonbury
A Temple in the Land
When You Can See Neither Wood Nor Trees
In Search of Ash Dome and Maidens of Mud and Oak
The Secret Place of the Wild Strawberries - Part II
Acknowledgements
Index