Adam Nicolson Books

'A feast for mind and soul, a treasure trove of insights into the enigmatic and enchanting world of the birds we share our lives with but barely notice. I have learnt so much. Every page is a thrill. Bird School has opened my eyes' Isabella Tree, author of Wilding Step into the hide for a glorious new encounter with the British wild Close to Adam Nicolson's home in Sussex, there is a forgotten field overrun by bracken and thicketed by brambles. It is the haunt of deer and many birds - nightingales, the occasional cuckoo, ravens, robins, owls and in summer the sweet-singing warblers that come north from Africa to breed in English woods. This gorgeous book charts his attempt to encounter birds, to engage with a marvellous layer of life he had previously almost ignored. He wanted to look and listen, to return to 'bird school' and see what it might teach him. He built a small shed amongst the trees with nesting boxes and bird feeders. Cocooned inside, season after season, he got to know the birds: where they nest, how they sing, how they mate and fight, what preys on them, what they are like as living things. Beautifully written and woven through with philosophy, literature, science and a sense of wonder, always conscious that that this is an age in which the natural world is under siege, Bird School pulls back the curtain on seemingly ordinary birds, taking a long, careful and concerned look at our relationship with the wild.

In almost 150 images Waite illuminates a new way of looking at the landscape in Britain while Nicolson provides perceptive essay on the different ways in which we respond and attempt to understand the landscape.

A photographic tribute to the English landscape, with 70 colour photographs.

The Battle of Trafalgar can claim to be one of the most known of the great human events. In Men of Honour, Adam Nicolson takes one of the greatest identifiable heroes in British history, Horatio Nelson, and examines the broader themes of heroism, violence and virtue. Trafalgar gripped the nineteenth century imagination like no other battle: it was a moment of both transcendent fulfilment and unmatched despair. It was a drama of such violence and sacrifice that the concept of total war may be argued to start from there. It finished the global ambitions of a European tyrant but culminated in the death of Admiral Horatio Nelson, the greatest hero of the era. This book fuses the immediate intensity of the battle with the deeper currents that were running at the time. It has a three-part framework: the long, slow six hour morning before the battle; the afternoon itself of terror, death and destruction; and the shocked, exultant and sobered aftermath ...

The writing is characterized by its complexity and depth, offering a bold exploration of personal themes. It vividly evokes the brutal imagery reminiscent of the Iliad, showcasing the harsh realities of conflict and the emotional turmoil that accompanies it. The piece stands out for its fearless approach, inviting readers to confront the raw and often painful aspects of human experience.

Reveals the contradictions of Tudor life: homes combined luxury and squalor; fashions were exotic but hygiene non-existent: and death and disease struck fear into the hearts of rich and poor alike.

A fascinating, lively account of the making of the King James Bible.

Where does Homer come from? And why does Homer matter? His epic poems of war and suffering can still speak to us of the role of destiny in life, of cruelty, of humanity and its frailty, but why they do is a mystery. How can we be so intimate with something so distant?

Experience Wordsworth and Coleridge in a fresh light through Adam Nicolson's vibrant exploration of their lives and works, infused with poetry, art, and nature writing. This period, marked by the creation of iconic poems like "The Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan," showcases Coleridge's heartfelt hymns and Wordsworth's revolutionary contributions in "Lyrical Ballads" and "Tintern Abbey." Nicolson narrates the story of the late 1790s, detailing the time Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Dorothy, along with a dynamic circle of friends and followers, spent in the picturesque Quantock Hills of Somerset. The book delves into how the physical environment influenced their poetry, emphasizing that understanding the genesis of their work requires experiencing the varied seasons and moods of that year. It paints a portrait of these literary giants as young, ambitious, and troubled individuals, each in search of a vision of wholeness. Their poetry emerged not from settled ideas but from a shared adventure, aiming to peel away the layers of consciousness. For them, poetry was more than mere decoration; it was a bold challenge to civilization and a powerful tool for remaking the world.