The book

'There is nothing more gripping than everyday life, and nothing more extraordinary than the commonplace.' OBSERVER The unique beauty of the British countryside has been celebrated down the ages in music, poetry and art. Its glories have also been described in countless private diaries. Arranged as a diary of the calendar year, this delightful and addictive treasury brings together the very finest – from Gilbert White's observations on the natural world as witnessed at his famous home at Selborne to Beatrix Potter's diaries kept while holidaying in Perthshire. Elsewhere, the thoughts of Dorothy Wordsworth, John Fowles, Francis Kilvert, Roger Deakin, Alan Bennett, George Mackay Brown and many others combine to form a rich and surprising portrait of a landscape and way of life we think we know so well.

The Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE ASSASSIN'S CLOAK: Triumphantly eclectic and entertaining ... What this delightful book demonstrates is that there is nothing more gripping than everyday life, and nothing more extraordinary than the commonplace.
Observer

PRAISE FOR THE ASSASSIN' S CLOAK: A sumptuous feast. This inspired anthology of diverse diary entries, selected chiefly for their honesty, is relentlessly thought-provoking.
Independent (Books of the year

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