Listen to a sample
Craftland
- Author
- James Fox
- Narrator
- James Fox
- Publisher
- Random House
- Publish Date
- 4 September 2025
- Run Time
- 7 hours 35 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
Connect with Britain’s extraordinary heritage and be awakened to the beauty all around you with the Sunday Times bestselling, soul-stirring journey to Craftland that reveals a richer, more meaningful way of living - by award-winning historian and broadcaster James Fox.
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO NON-FICTION BOOK AWARD 2025*
For generations, what we made with our hands shaped who we were. The skills and knowledge passed down to us built our communities and defined our regions. And if you know where to look, they still do.
In Craftland, James Fox seeks out Britain’s last great craftspeople – those who are keeping our vanishing trades and traditions alive. Through them, we witness not only the living past but a deeper, more connected way of living today: one that is not yet lost and might still shape our future.
This soul-stirring journey shows that Britain is still a craft land, if only we have eyes to see it.
‘Inspiring’ Sunday Times
‘Wonderful’ Michael Morpurgo
‘Enchanting’ Amol Rajan
‘I read it in two gulps with delight’ Andrew Marr
‘This extraordinary book will leave you awestruck and inspired’ Xand van Tulleken
‘Beautiful, eye-opening and surprisingly moving – a treat to treasure’ Lucy Worsley
‘A joy’ Edmund de Waal
© James Fox 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
Critics Review
-
An impassioned and inspiring account of the extraordinary men and women still doing traditional artisanal work in Britain
Sunday Times, *Book of the Week*
-
Craftland is a book that shimmers with love for a dwindling world of meticulous, patient labour … Lyrical … Deftly written and well researched
Guardian
-
Superb … A book with many highlights … [Fox] brings his critical intelligence to platform the usually silent process of mastering a craft. I read the book with admiration not only for the remarkable subjects individually, but also the human spirit that unites them all
New Statesman
-
If you want to know about Britain and yourself, read this book … This is a tremendous book that urges us – in spite of the seductions of crass modernity – to believe in the craftspeople, living and dead, who made us who we are.
Spectator
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
Meet the weavers, watchmakers and wheelwrights keeping Britain’s noble craft traditions alive … Fox effortlessly persuades the reader about the superiority of all things crafted
Mail on Sunday
-
Utterly enchanting
BBC Radio 4 Today
-
This hugely absorbing book is so full of stories of crafts and craftspeople and communities, and of creativity over the ages. It’s such an important story to tell and told so compellingly. Wonderful
Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse
-
A joy
Edmund de Waal
-
Beautiful, eye-opening and surprisingly moving - a treat to treasure
Lucy Worsley, author of Jane Austen at Home
-
Craftland offers insights into the future as well as the past. It is a close-up study of human work which arrives in a moment when we’re all trying to understand what that means
Ian Leslie, author of John and Paul
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- James Fox
- Narrator
- James Fox
- Duration
- 7 hours 35 minutes
- Release Date
- 4 September 2025
- ISBN
- 9781529936094
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Random House
- Genre
- Handicrafts, decorative arts and crafts, Material culture, Social and cultural history, Traditional trades, crafts and skills, Decorative arts
Synopsis
Connect with Britain’s extraordinary heritage and be awakened to the beauty all around you with the Sunday Times bestselling, soul-stirring journey to Craftland that reveals a richer, more meaningful way of living - by award-winning historian and broadcaster James Fox.*SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO NON-FICTION BOOK AWARD 2025*For generations, what we made with our hands shaped who we were. The skills and knowledge passed down to us built our communities and defined our regions. And if you know where to look, they still do.In Craftland, James Fox seeks out Britain’s last great craftspeople – those who are keeping our vanishing trades and traditions alive. Through them, we witness not only the living past but a deeper, more connected way of living today: one that is not yet lost and might still shape our future.This soul-stirring journey shows that Britain is still a craft land, if only we have eyes to see it.‘Inspiring’ Sunday Times‘Wonderful’ Michael Morpurgo‘Enchanting’ Amol Rajan‘I read it in two gulps with delight’ Andrew Marr‘This extraordinary book will leave you awestruck and inspired’ Xand van Tulleken‘Beautiful, eye-opening and surprisingly moving – a treat to treasure’ Lucy Worsley‘A joy’ Edmund de Waal© James Fox 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.