Reissued to mark its enduring influence, this new edition of J. A. Baker’s extraordinary classic of British nature writing features an exclusive afterword by Robert Macfarlane.

First published in 1967, The Peregrine was greeted with immediate acclaim and went on to win the Duff Cooper Prize, then the leading literary award of its time. The book has since become a landmark in twentieth-century nature writing, admired by writers such as Ted Hughes, Barry Lopez and Andrew Motion, all of whom have cited it as one of the most important works in the genre.

Despite the common association of peregrines with remote wilderness, The Peregrine is set on the flat marshes of the Essex coast, where Baker spent long winters observing and recording the birds that visited from the uplands-peregrines hunting the vast flocks of pigeons and waders that share this stark, desolate landscape.

Published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first appearance, this edition honours a timeless classic and includes a new afterword from one of its greatest admirers, Robert Macfarlane.