The Plot is a remarkable and absorbing memoir of family, place and faith. Set in the landscape of the edge lands of the North Yorkshire Moors, with the dramatic chalk figure of the Kilburn white horse as a backdrop. I particularly enjoy landscape literature and found this such a rewarding and intriguing read I decided to re-read it immediately on finishing. Highly recommended.

I really didn't know what to expect of this book but being a Yorkshire woman I was interested in the area where 'The Plot' is located. I found the look back in time of this specific area fascinating as well as the insight into the author's family living in the mid 20th century. Reflections on a catholic education and the 'heros' of war time Britain were an interesting thread running through the narrative. I am looking forward to reading other books by this author.

This is more of a biography than a natural history book, and that is no bad thing. John Bunting was a well known sculptor and artist, and this book is his daughter trying to find out about her father by using the lens of 'The Plot' a small parcel of land in the Yorkshire Dales, and considering aspects of his life in this context. On this plot his built from scratch a small chapel as he was a devout catholic. There was also another small building that was modestly furnished. This was what he used as his place to contemplate the world. She considers her father through the subjects of national and local history, landscape and wars. He was a difficult, driven and focused man, who had a unique talent with regards to sculpture. The book reminds me of the Hare with Amber Eyes, which was a family history seen through small netsuke, and The Story of England which is the history of a nation seen through the lens of a single village in England. A good book, and one to re read to un-peel the complex layers of her father.