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The secret history of here : a year in the valley / Alistair Moffat.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Edinburgh, Scotland : Canongate Books Ltd, [2021]Copyright date: ©2021Description: 377 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781838851132
  • 1838851135
Subject(s): Genre/Form: LOC classification:
  • DA880.B72 M64 2021
Summary: "The Secret History of Here is the story of a single place, a farm in the Scottish Borders. The site on which Alistair Moffat's farm now stands has been occupied since pre-historic times. The fields have turned up ancient arrow heads, stone spindles, silver pennies and a stone carved with the rune-like letters of Ogham. Walking this landscape you can feel the presence and see the marks of those who lived here before. But it is also the story of everywhere. In uncovering the history of one piece of land, Moffat shows how history is all around us, if only we have the eyes to see it. Under our feet, carved into the landscape, in the layout of paths and roads, in the stories we pass down, our history leaves its trace on the land. Taking the form of a journal of a year, The Secret History of Here is a walk through the centuries as much as the seasons. We hear the echo of battles long since fought, of lives lived quietly or scandalously, of armies, of kings, of the common folk who mostly inhabited this land, and a little of those that live here now"-- Publisher's description.
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Non-Fiction Davis (Central) Library Non-Fiction Non-Fiction 941.37 MOF Available T00843822
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The Secret History of Here is the story of a single place, a farm in the Scottish Borders. The site on which Alistair Moffat's farm now stands has been occupied since pre-historic times. The fields have turned up ancient arrow heads, stone spindles, silver pennies and a stone carved with the rune-like letters of Ogham. Walking this landscape you can feel the presence and see the marks of those who lived here before.

But it is also the story of everywhere. In uncovering the history of one piece of land, Moffat shows how history is all around us, if only we have the eyes to see it. Under our feet, carved into the landscape, in the layout of paths and roads, in the stories we pass down, our history leaves its trace on the land.

Taking the form of a journal of a year, The Secret History of Here is a walk through the centuries as much as the seasons. We hear the echo of battles long since fought, of lives lived quietly or scandalously, of armies, of kings, of the common folk who mostly inhabited this land, and a little of those that live here now.

"The Secret History of Here is the story of a single place, a farm in the Scottish Borders. The site on which Alistair Moffat's farm now stands has been occupied since pre-historic times. The fields have turned up ancient arrow heads, stone spindles, silver pennies and a stone carved with the rune-like letters of Ogham. Walking this landscape you can feel the presence and see the marks of those who lived here before. But it is also the story of everywhere. In uncovering the history of one piece of land, Moffat shows how history is all around us, if only we have the eyes to see it. Under our feet, carved into the landscape, in the layout of paths and roads, in the stories we pass down, our history leaves its trace on the land. Taking the form of a journal of a year, The Secret History of Here is a walk through the centuries as much as the seasons. We hear the echo of battles long since fought, of lives lived quietly or scandalously, of armies, of kings, of the common folk who mostly inhabited this land, and a little of those that live here now"-- Publisher's description.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Historian Moffat (The Hidden Ways) offers a charming, vivid collection of journal entries that capture the day-to-day life and history of his family farm in Scotland. "Every place has its history, its secrets," he writes, and the secrets of the land's past come out in Moffat's month-by-month diary entries. In January, blackbirds eat fermented apples, while March sees Moffat describing the "warming spring ground," and November brings extreme weather exacerbated by climate change. Along the way, the author brings surprising stories to light, as when he recalls the construction of a wall around 1109 CE, "a vast, sprawling project that could not have failed to touch the lives of the people of our little valley." Above all, Moffat's work is a lyrical rumination on time and nature: "Instead of looking at my wrist to discover the time of day... it occurred to me that I should look up at the sky, sense the shift of the weather, the seasons, and glory in the day." This deeply observed chronicle enchants. Agent: David Godwin, David Godwin Assoc. (July)

Booklist Review

Moffat may not be a household name on this side of the Atlantic, but in his native Scotland he is a well-known author of numerous books. In this meditative work he writes with great love of his life in the Henhouse, his family farm located in the Scottish Borders. Dogs feature prominently in his story. He and his Westie, Maidie, who is named in honor of Sir Walter Scott's loyal dog, Maida, walk in all kinds of weather throughout the seasons as he faithfully keeps daily "a diary of discovery" observing the land and its human and nonhuman inhabitants. Moffat is a wonderful writer and companion, wry, thoughtful, empathetic. He writes about the natural world, history, mortality, geography, language, archaeology, the weather, local customs (Common Riding Day), place names, and the kindness of small communities. Diary entries range from one sentence to wonderfully long stretches of pages. The sentences are both sturdy and lyrical: "For millennia we have looked upwards." For admirers of Robert Macfarlane and anyone who appreciates nature, Scotland, and, of course, dogs.

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