The Living Mountain

A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland

By: Nan Shepherd, Robert Macfarlane, Jeanette Winterson

Narrated by: Tilda Swinton, Robert MacFarlane, Jeanette Winterson

Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

In this masterpiece of nature writing, beautifully narrated by Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton, 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 30 years before it was finally published.

©2019 Nan Shepherd (P)2019 Canongate Books Ltd

Critic reviews

"The finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain." (Guardian)

"Reading [The Living Mountain] seems to me to explain why reading is so important. And odd. And necessary. And not like anything else. There is no substitute for reading." (Jeanette Winterson)

"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)

Beautiful prose crisply read

So enjoyable, almost felt like I was swimming in it.
Recommend unequivocally if you like words, mountains, and ideas.

Perfection

This production is unusual. The readers and the material are excellent. If one knows the printed book it would surely add to the enjoyment of it, or if one has encountered the work for the first time through having it read aloud by Tilda Swinton, this is a great gift. I listen to it again and again.

readers voice, intent and inflection all perfect!!

excellent book content. too intense and interesting to describe. lovely. exceptional, phenomenal!! deep with feeling.

Exquisite writing, glorious delivery

I found this book through Robert MacFarlane’s work - and was mesmerized by it. This is nature writing at its absolute finest: memorable descriptive passages mingle with bracing philosophical observations. To think that the manuscript sat for three decades in a drawer, until it was discovered and finally published! This is a book to savor, and to treasure.

Tilda Swinton’s narration of this precious book is exquisite, full of feeling.

I loved everything, the story, the narrator, the postscripts and Robert MacFarlane’s essay. The imagery of the abundant life in the Cairngorns came alive.

Absolutely stunning

Someone on Twitter mentioned Robert MacFarlane, so I’ve been listening to his books and stumbled onto this one. Absolutely stunning, sublime, beautiful, and rich. Swinton is a wonderful narrator. Can’t wait to listen again.

A hidden Scottish treasure …

The Living Mountain was so much more than I expected. While traveling through Scotland and looking for a book more about the local area that we were in I stumbled on to this recommendation and came away with something special. Nan Shepherds observational weaving of her time in the Cairngorms takes you to the quite spots on the mountain as well as in yourself. She allows the reader inside a piece of Scotland that few are able to see experience.

Listen this book!

I rarely read books more than once. I've just begun listening to this one again and it is even more moving and profound the second time.

This narrator is phenomenal. I'd listen to other books narrated by her just because she is SO good.

Beautiful

I listen to this one again and again. I feel like I get to experience a place I’ve never been, but I also listen just for the language of the land. The narration is also superb. One of the best nature books ever written.

Timeless evocation of a mountain range

Nan Shepherd's classic work on the Cairngorm range is beautifully read by Tilda Swinton with the ecstasy of the writer herself. (Only a Scot could tackle all the Gaelic names so nicely!) Because the style is poetic and meditative, however, it should probably be read rather than heard. The superb Robert MacFarlane (from whom I first learned of the book) adds context to the work, and Jeanette Winterson contributes a personal perspective.