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

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.

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.