J. A. Baker's extraordinary classic of British nature writing was first published in 1967.
Greeted with acclaim it went on to win the Duff Cooper Prize the pre-eminent literary prize
of the time. Luminaries such as Ted Hughes Barry Lopez and Andrew Motion have cited it as one
of the most important books in twentieth-century nature writing. Despite the association of
peregrines with the wild outer reaches of the British Isles The Peregrine is set on the flat
marshes of the Essex coast where J. A. Baker spent long winters looking and writing about the
visitors from the uplands - peregrines that spend the winter hunting the huge flocks of pigeons
and waders that share the desolate landscape with them. This new edition of the timeless
classic published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first publication features an
afterword by one of the book's greatest admirers Robert Macfarlane.
