'The young family has to face the hardships that small farmers and smallholders endure everywhere' -- The Times 'A tender, eloquent book about love, the power of the land and the price to paid for living out one's dreams' -- Sarah Dunant 'A joy ... heartening, raw, tender.' -- John Carey, Sunday Times 'Touching, funny and extremely well-written' -- Telegraph Enchanting ...magical ...so beautifully written that you almost hold your breath' -- Daily Mail 'Amajor talent' -- Marie Clare 'Beautifully written ! crammed with precious details ! It should be required reading' -- Guardian 'It is the prose equivalent of a collection of poems by Ted Hughes -- or Wordsworth' -- Sunday Times 'The classic Great Escape ... strikingly told' -- Matthew Bell, TLS 20060505 'An assured and compelling first book ! A moving exploration of the slow triumph of adversity over optimism' -- Rose Tremain, The Sunday Telegraph 20060505

Horatio Clare has worked on Front Row and Nightwaves, and produced Radio 3's The Verb. Born in 1973, Clare has written for The Spectator, the New Statesman, the Guardian, and the Daily Telegraph.