The Living Mountain by Nan Shepard
Nan Shepherd chronicles her excursions into the Scottish Cairngorm highlands in this outstanding work of nature writing. She encounters a world that can occasionally be breathtakingly lovely and others are terribly harsh. She explores and documents the rocks, rivers, wildlife, and secret facets of this amazing landscape in her powerful, poetic words.
Shepherd spent her entire life looking for the “fundamental nature” of the Cairngorms, and her journey inspired her to compose this timeless reflection on the beauty of mountains and our imaginative connection to the natural world. The Living Mountain was written during the Second World War, but it took more than 30 years before it was ultimately published.
The Living Mountain by Nan Shepard
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One of the best books on nature writing I’ve ever read. In this succinct, captivating book, Ms Shepherd successfully captured the majestic splendour of the Cairngorms. I found it to be a book that is best read in one sitting, but I agree with the introduction’s author that every time you read it, you will learn something new and rediscover something old. Just beautifully poetic words about a stunningly poetic region of Scotland—not “travel writing,” not even “mountain writing.”
Born in 1893, Anna (Nan) Shepherd passed away in 1981. She graduated from her own institution in 1915 and spent the following 41 years working as an English lecturer. She has a strong connection to Aberdeen and her native Deeside. She frequented the Cairngorms with friends and pupils since she was a passionate gardener and hill walker. She also travelled farther afield, visiting places like South Africa, Norway, France, Italy, and Greece, but she always went back to the house where she was born and raised in West Cults, a community on North Deeside three miles from Aberdeen.
