Down in the Valley

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin. An enhanced audio edition containing original audio interviews with the author, Laurie Lee.

A moving, never-before-published portrait of the landscape that shaped the life of Laurie Lee, the beloved author of Cider With Rosie

'Before I left the valley I thought everywhere was like this. Then I went away for 40 years and when I came back I realized that nowhere was like this.'

Laurie Lee walked out of his childhood village one summer morning to travel the world, but he was always drawn back to his beloved Slad Valley, eventually returning to make it his home.

In this portrait of his Cotswold home, Laurie Lee guides us through its landscapes, and shares memories of his village youth - from his favourite pub, The Woolpack, to winter skating on the pond, the church through the seasons, local legends, learning the violin and playing jazz records in the privy on a wind-up gramophone.

Filled with wry humour and a love of place, Down in the Valley is a writer's tribute to the landscape that shaped him, and where he found peace.

© Laurie Lee 2019. Original interviews and afterword © David Parker 2019

Critics Review

  • It is a fine thing to revisit this writer’s landscape and hear his amiable voice in it again.

    Times Literary Supplement

  • Down in the Valley is truly evocative of time and place. A beautiful illustration of how, in some way, we are all indelibly influenced by the landscape of our childhood.

    Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path

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