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A personal investigation into the history that surrounds us, from the historian and award-winning author of The Hidden Ways
The Secret History of Here is the story of a single place in the Scottish Borders. The site on which Alistair Moffat’s farm now stands has been occupied since prehistoric times. Walking this landscape you can feel the presence and see the marks of those who lived here before.
But it is also the story of everywhere. In uncovering the history of one piece of land, Moffat shows how history is all around us, if only we have the eyes to see it. Taking the form of a journal of a year, this is a walk through the centuries as much as the seasons, offering a glimpse into the lives of those who came before, as well as those who live here now.
“[Moffat] is a great teacher … Alert though he is to change and to the world we have lived into, he is forever in search of time that is lost and can be recovered. It is also enthralling … Moffat is aware that he will himself come in time to belong to the past. This book, like his earlier ones, should ensure that in a sense he survives”
scotsman
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“It’s the spirit of Moffat’s place which gives The Secret History of Here its heft … The book is written in the form of a diary. It follows the march of the seasons – how could it not? – and allows Moffat to delve into both his family history and the history of the Borders landscape”
herald
“Joyous … a delightful meditation on a place, and on the role that humans played in its evolution”
foreword
“Delightful and richly personal … The charm of this book is that it is rooted in Moffat’s lived experience. But, in his gracious humility, he sees himself as just one more [of] 300 generations”
church Times
”Praise for To the Island of Tides: [To the Island of Tides] is often beautifully evocative of places, the past and the landscape … compelling and revealing”
the Times
Alistair Moffat
Alistair Moffat was born in Kelso, Scotland in 1950. He is an award-winning writer, historian and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television, former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and former Rector of the University of St Andrews. He is the founder of Borders Book Festival and Co-Chairman of The Great Tapestry of Scotland, and the author of The Hidden Ways: Scotland’s Forgotten Roads and To the Island of Tides: A Journey to Lindisfarne.
alistairmoffat.co.uk