The Rising Down
Lives in a Sussex Landscape
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The Rising Down
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Narrated by:
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Alexandra Harris
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By:
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Alexandra Harris
About this listen
This luminous chronicle of lives in an English landscape over time is a feat of time travel from the prize-winning author of Romantic Moderns and Weatherland.
An ancient church sheltering a medieval anchorite who chose to be buried alive.
The country estate parading a menagerie of exotic animals.
The cottage where William Blake received the poetic spirit of Milton.
A safe house harbouring secret agents from wartime French resistance networks.
When the celebrated critic and cultural historian Alexandra Harris returned to her childhood home of West Sussex, she realised that she barely knew the place at all.
As she probed beneath the surface, excavating layers of archival records and everyday objects, bringing a lifetime's reading to bear on the place where she started, hundreds of unexpected stories and hypnotic voices emerged from the area's past. Who has stood here, she asks; what did they see?
From the painter John Constable and the modernist writer Ford Madox Ford to the lost local women who left little trace, these electrifying encounters - spanning the Downs, Poland, Australia, Canada - inspired her to imagine lives that seemed distant, yet were deeply connected through their shared landscape.
By focusing on one small patch of England, Harris finds 'a World in a Grain of Sand' by opening vast new horizons, becoming our intimate companion as we travel on visionary journeys through space and time. The result is a masterpiece of 'scholarship at its life-enhancing best' (Independent) which reveals that nowhere is simply one place :and gives us all new bearings.
©2024 Alexandra Harris (P)2024 Faber & FaberListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Rising Down
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Trish Halligan
- 20-11-24
All human life is here.
The Rising Down: Lives in a Sussex Landscape - despite having its focus on a small part of Sussex - is a beautifully evocative depiction of the constancy of all human experiences, emotions, losses, concerns and preoccupations in this century as in those preceding, even as landscapes shift and societal customs change.
I could listen to Alexandra Harris read stereo instructions and somehow be moved, so to be able to listen to her painstakingly researched and sensitively written work is a real treat.
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- veyza
- 01-05-24
New Subgenre
This beautiful book uniquely uses local history sources to discuss big themes. And the thought of Jomo Kenyatta and Laurie Lee meeting is intriguing.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- T. Norwood
- 31-10-24
Fascinating
Is it book on history, geography or literature. In truth it is all of these and much more.
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- Deborah
- 13-05-24
A wonderful book
One of the best books I have ever read, deeply moving and beautifully read. Especially if you live West Sussex as I do.
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- keefy
- 23-06-24
Beautiful
A truly wonderful book. Goes beyond Sussex to all our experiences. History and beauty is all around.
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- mgir
- 28-05-24
Truly magnificent
I gained so much pleasure from this book. Every chapter brought new delights. Beautifully read too!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Natasha
- 30-08-24
Wonderful
This was such a delight, the author took me on a journey through the places I know and live across time. Her narration was beautiful and very engaging. Charming book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Miss J Jaeger
- 18-05-24
Fantastic Sussex history
I loved this book. Having been born, raised, educated and started work in West Sussex, I thought it might be interesting. But it was more than that. The author brings to life so many historic characters and places, some I know but others I don’t. I could picture these people and places and see them going about their business. It was so interesting that I will have to listen again! Excellent for all Lovers of Sussex!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mrs F
- 03-11-24
Beautiful and fascinating
If you love the Sussex Downs this book is an absolute must read! A fascinating account of the people who have lived and work in the area throughout history. You’ll want to read it over and over again.
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