Ancient Wonderings

Reviews

Praise for Ancient Wonderings:‘Understated, well-crafted … absorbing’ Times Literary Supplement ‘Companionable … informative … romantic … [with] lovely lyricism’ Literary Review Praise for James Canton’s Out of Essex: ‘Some landscapes are silent, others as eager to communicate as the shades in Homer's underworld. But not everyone has the gift of hearing what they are saying. James Canton's involvement with Essex is long and deep, and in this book of walking, remembering, and reflecting, he picks up echoes from many writers who are connected to its villages, towns and surrounding countryside. … His pilgrimage to the past is full of surprises and always enjoyable, as he reinvigorates the familiar scene and recovers unfamiliar associations.’ Marina Warner, chair of the Man Booker International prize 2015 ‘Canton … is a stalker of literary ghosts, following traces across the Essex countryside that might lead him to the writers who might have lived and worked among these landscapes.’ Times Literary Supplement ‘A work of gloriously mixed genre – part memoir, part literary criticism and part book of place – but it is unambiguously shaped by Canton’s love for the often overlooked landscapes of Essex and the many great words that they have inspired.’ Mark Cocker, author of Crow Country and Claxton: Field Notes from a Small Planet ‘Out of Essex … enlightens the not-so-literary among us, it illuminates Essex in a new, fascinating, light. It offers a compelling read … At times conversational, at times meditative – it is always lyrically beautiful. Canton joins the Golden Age of East Anglian environmental writers – alongside the likes of Richard Mabey and Mark Cocker – and he has done Essex proud.’ East Anglian Daily Times Expand reviews