Winner of the Wainwright Prize 2015

What secrets lie hidden in the long grass? In Meadowland, award-winning nature writer John Lewis-Stempel offers an intimate portrait of an English meadow across the course of a year, blending personal observation with the wildlife stories of the British countryside.

From the first cowslips of spring to the hay-cutting of summer and the quiet grazing of autumn, the meadow reveals itself as a place of constant change and quiet drama. Beneath the surface and among the grasses live creatures whose lives unfold alongside the turning seasons, a badger clan, a family of foxes, a rabbit warren, the fragile nests of skylarks and the haunting calls of curlews. Their births, struggles and deaths are woven into the landscape’s rhythm, making the meadow not just a field but a living, breathing community.

Written in exquisite prose, Meadowland is both a biography of a meadow and a meditation on the enduring bond between people, land and nature. It is a moving celebration of biodiversity, the cycles of the natural world, and the small wonders often overlooked in everyday life.

Perfect for readers of seasonal nature writing, lovers of the English countryside, and anyone who enjoyed The Shepherd’s Life or The Hidden Life of Trees, this is a book to treasure and return to with every season.