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Down Burrow Lane
- Author
- Michael Morpurgo
- Narrator
- Michael Morpurgo
- Publisher
- Hodder & Stoughton
- Publish Date
- 17 September 2026
- Run Time
- 5 hours 26 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
'Tender, affecting, wise - a deeply human and uplifting story' CHLOE DALTON
'A moving, vulnerable portrait of love, nature and a life well-lived' RORY STEWART
'A warm, rich, generous book. A pleasure from first page to last.' KATHERINE RUNDELL
The long-awaited memoir of life and love on a Devon farm - Michael Morpurgo's most personal and moving book to date
Fifty years ago, Michael and Clare Morpurgo packed their young family into a car in London and set off for a remote farm in rural Devon, down a narrow track called Burrow Lane.
It was on this magical farm that Michael, then a young schoolteacher, became a writer. Over the years, it would inspire many of his best-loved books, including War Horse and Private Peaceful.
Here, Michael and Clare raised their family - and, in many ways, grew up themselves. They also welcomed more than 100,000 children from towns and cities to experience life in the countryside through their charity, Farms for City Children.
This is the remarkable love story of Michael and Clare, and an account of the joys and hardships of life on the farm across five decades: a journey through the seasons and years that shaped the land around them, and the lives of the children forever changed by their time there.
'Touching and extraordinary, this true story seems like a fairy tale' JOANNA LUMLEY
Down Burrow Lane was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 21/09/2026
Critics Review
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A warm, rich, generous book. A pleasure from first page to last.
KATHERINE RUNDELL
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'Profoundly beautiful. I found myself in tears on so many occasions I had to stop bothering with tissues. Tears of recognition that love overcomes all obstacles, that love, and no small amount of tenacity, can even build farms and nourish giant cities of children. That activism is about love. Down Burrow Lane is a love story. You will love reading it. It's not that I 'couldn't put it down' I wouldn't put it down.'
LEMN SISSAY
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Tender, affecting, wise - a deeply human and uplifting story about braided lives, enduring love, and shared purpose
CHLOE DALTON
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A moving, vulnerable, honest, compassionate portrait of love, nature, writing and a life well-lived
RORY STEWART
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Touching and extraordinary, this true story seems like a fairy tale; Michael Morpurgo weaves his customary magic to inspire us all.
JOANNA LUMLEY
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'Not everyone knows that Michael Morpurgo has never been afraid of getting his hands dirty and his wellies covered in muck. The point is he thinks that if children do the same, magic happens. And it does. Here's how!'
MICHAEL ROSEN
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'Full of life, laughter and love, Down Burrow Lane is an inspiring story of how vision, determination, and hope can make the seemingly impossible, not just possible but inevitable. This is a magical story of the transformatory power of nature told by one of the nation's most beloved storytellers.'
CAROLINE LUCAS
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'A tender and inspiring memoir, Down Burrow Lane is both a love letter to Morpurgo's wife Clare and a testament to their shared life's work. Together, Clare and Michael remind us that changing a child's life can begin with something as simple as feeding an animal, walking through a meadow at sunrise, or being trusted with a task. Deeply moving and quietly radical.'
HELEN REBANKS
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'Michael Morpurgo has written many wonderful books but his masterpiece is the life he made with Clare. Their genius is generosity. It shines out of every page.'
FRANK COTTRELL-BOYCE
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A story of ideas, dreams, love and hope. Prepare to charmed once more by the finest story teller in the land.
KATE HUMBLE
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Michael Morpurgo
- Narrator
- Michael Morpurgo
- Duration
- 5 hours 26 minutes
- Release Date
- 17 September 2026
- ISBN
- 9781399760126
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Hodder & Stoughton
- Genre
- Memoirs, Nature and the natural world: general interest, Agriculture and farming, Farm and working animals: general interest
Synopsis
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Tender, affecting, wise - a deeply human and uplifting story' CHLOE DALTON'A moving, vulnerable portrait of love, nature and a life well-lived' RORY STEWART'A warm, rich, generous book. A pleasure from first page to last.' KATHERINE RUNDELLThe long-awaited memoir of life and love on a Devon farm - Michael Morpurgo's most personal and moving book to dateFifty years ago, Michael and Clare Morpurgo packed their young family into a car in London and set off for a remote farm in rural Devon, down a narrow track called Burrow Lane. It was on this magical farm that Michael, then a young schoolteacher, became a writer. Over the years, it would inspire many of his best-loved books, including War Horse and Private Peaceful. Here, Michael and Clare raised their family - and, in many ways, grew up themselves. They also welcomed more than 100,000 children from towns and cities to experience life in the countryside through their charity, Farms for City Children. This is the remarkable love story of Michael and Clare, and an account of the joys and hardships of life on the farm across five decades: a journey through the seasons and years that shaped the land around them, and the lives of the children forever changed by their time there.'Touching and extraordinary, this true story seems like a fairy tale' JOANNA LUMLEYDown Burrow Lane was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 21/09/2026
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