Curl Up With Our List Of Favourite Cornish Books
If the wind is howling and the rain is lashing against the windows then let's just get cosy. Grab a cuppa, snuggle up under a blanket and while away a stormy autumn afternoon with a good book. It's time to curl up with our list of favourite Cornish books...
Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
On holiday in Cornwall, Simon, Jane and Barney Drew discover an ancient map in the attic of the Grey House, where they are staying with their mysterious Great-Uncle Merry. They know immediately that it is special. But it is much more than just a map. It is the start of a quest to find a grail, a source of great power that could contain – or resurrect – the powerful, age-old forces of evil in the world. And the Drews are not the only ones searching for it.
Collected Poems of Charles Causley
A wonderful collection of poems by Cornish poet Charles Causley, often described as ‘the greatest poet laureate we never had’.
Zennor In Darkness by Helen Dunmore
It is spring 1917 in the Cornish coastal village of Zennor, and the young artist Clare Coyne is waking up to the world. Ignoring the whispers from her neighbours, she has struck a rare friendship with D.H. Lawrence and his German wife, who are hoping to escape the war-fever of London. In between painting and visits to her new friends she whiles away the warm days with her cousin John, who is on leave from the trenches, harbouring secrets she couldn’t begin to understand.
But as the heat picks up, so too do the fear and the gossip that haunt the village. And the freedom to love will come at a steep price.
Rising Ground by Philip Marsden
When Philip Marsden moved to a remote, creekside farmhouse in Cornwall, the intensity of his response took him aback. It led him to wonder why we react so strongly to certain places and set him off on a journey on foot westwards to Land’s End through one of the most myth-rich regions of Europe. From the Neolithic ritual landscape of Bodmin Moor to the Arthurian traditions at Tintagel, from the mysterious china-clay region to the granite tors and tombs of the far south-west, Marsden assembles a chronology of Britain’s attitude to place. In archives, he uncovers the life and work of other enthusiasts before him – medieval chroniclers and Tudor topographers, eighteenth-century antiquarians, post-industrial poets and abstract painters. Drawing also on his travels from further afield, Marsden reveals that the shape of the land lies not just at the heart of our own history but of man’s perennial struggle to belong on this earth.
Cornovia: Ancient Sites of Cornwall & Scilly by Craig Weatherhill
Cornovia provides a guide to the ancient history of Cornwall and Scilly. It explores almost 250 sites, with an explanation of each, maps and photographs.
Dark, Salt, Clear by Lamorna Ash
There is the Cornwall Lamorna Ash knew as a child – the idyllic, folklore-rich place where she spent her summer holidays. Then there is the Cornwall she discovers when, feeling increasingly dislocated in London, she moves to Newlyn, a fishing town near Land’s End. This Cornwall is messier and harder; it doesn’t seem like a place that would welcome strangers.
But before long, Lamorna finds herself on a week-long trawler trip with a crew of local fishermen, afforded a rare glimpse into their world, their warmth and their humour. Out on the water, miles from the coast, she learns how fishing requires you to confront who you are and what it is that tethers you to the land. Dark, Salt, Clear is a bracing journey of discovery and a captivating portrait of a community sustained and defined by the sea for centuries.
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall.
Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable journey.
The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.
House On The Strand by Daphne Du Maurier
Everyone knows her most famous books set in Cornwall - Jamaica Inn and Rebecca, but have you read House On The Strand? A fascinating tale about a man who escapes his troubles and finds himself transported back to 14th century Cornwall.
A Place Like Home by Rosamund Pilcher
A spellbinding collection of 15 stories. Each of the stories is a perfect slice of romance written with warmth and passion, featuring some wonderfully memorable, smart and feisty female characters that will transport the reader to another time and place.
13 Cornish Ghost Stories
Cornwall is the perfect setting for tales, myths, and legends. The wild moors, the granite, the clay, the rebellious sea, and flat calm coves make the county a vast and inspirational canvas. The starry nights, needle-sharp gorse, and windswept tors and carns provide perfect backdrops to eerie full moons and ghostly goings-on. Mischievous piskies dance across our landscape, while the spectres of the past, both real and imagined, haunt our memories and our dreams.
Whether you need a pair of thick, warm socks or a big, cosy jumper, we've got plenty of snuggly clothes in our autumn collection, take a peek...