This book begins with Turtle Doves somewhere in an overgrown hedgerow nearby, making their characteristic calls. I had never previously been the slightest bit interested in this species of bird, nor thought I would care to be. And yet Isabella Tree's subtle, nuanced prose immediately draws you into this book and maintains your interest right to the end. As for the Turtle Doves, well they are the lure, drawing you into Tree's account of re-wilding the Knepp estate in West Sussex, a large expanse of land that her husband Charlie inherited and at first farmed. However, it soon became apparent that the way of life they had sustained for some years was no longer viable, as milk prices dropped and cereals could be got cheaper from other countries. So, after much discussion and research they embarked on the project of re-wilding, not a phrase the author prefers to use. Essentially, it meant allowing arable fields to lie fallow while the cocktail of chemicals they had ingested over the years leached from the soil, and selling off their dairy herd and with little interference, seeing what would happen. Once the land began to turn back to scrub they began their introductions, first beef cows, then Tamworth pigs and Exmoor ponies who chewed their way through the scenery and largely created the landscape that now benefits insects, invertebrates, bats and those Turtle Doves which have appeared in unprecedented numbers as they have slowly disappeared from the rest of the nation's fields. The book is dotted with understated humour, Duncan the Exmoor colt getting loose in the middle of polo games or trotting into a farm office for example, and this is a book with a solid backbone of science. Ms Tree has read the scientific reports you would never bother to and racked up the air miles visiting other experiments in re-wilding across Europe and further afield. And she and her husband have suffered a great deal abuse for their trouble, from local landowners who don't have their vision to the snide letter writers and others. She doesn't say too much but I imagine that beginning their work was a time of great misery as well as joy as the experiment began to come right; species that were dying or gone from the rest of England turned up at Knepp and made their home. This book will face criticism even so, although not from me. The problem is that the writing is ebullient, buoyant, riding on an air of excitement and a bit of self-indulgence. Every decision the couple make seems to be the right one, every choice they make comes good and is then backed up by the scientific data. You can understand why the book is written in this fashion, given the virulence of their critics but there were times, particularly late on in the book when I just wanted to see the other side of the argument, what the hide-bound farmers really had against the project and what scientific backing there was for alternative views. You won't find that here. What you will find is a book of little miracles, the flora and fauna once common to southern England finding its way back into the landscape and a wholesale questioning of the intensive agricultural systems that have routed such things. This 'experiment' should be the model for landowners across Britain, unless we want to lose everything but the crops and farmed animals.

This is the best of nature writing. Isabella Tree's prose is lyrical and beautiful. Her story is inspiring as she brings back to life her previously intensively exhausted farm. I really enjoy memoirs and nature writing so this book for me is wonderful. Many thanks to the publishers for sending me a copy of the book to review. I am a lucky girl. I can't wait to read more that the author has to offer.

Incredible book that has truly inspired me. Isabella Tree presents her experiences at Knepp in a way that makes a wilding approach to conservation accessible for everyone. This is the start of something big.

I enjoy reading science and nature-related books, and Wilding checked the boxes. Highly advice if you're getting anxious about the environmental situation as well. The book gives hopes in the future, and what actions we can take to restore our planet ! Isabella Tree explains very well and in an easy manner complex concepts around trees, plants, animals and their relationship/dependencies. I've learned A LOT. My vision of farming definitely changed, and my understanding of the ecosystem and wildlife as well. I'm looking now to visit the Knepp estate and to see Isabella's work from my own eyes. I'm very thankful for the author for this book, I will definitely read it again.

I read this book at my book club and could not believe it had almost passed me by - an entertaining, heartfelt chronicle of a project that will hopefully inspire great changes for nature. Scientific detail written for anyone to understand but the tone of the book is kept personal. I went on to buy this book for my dad for Father's Day and he loved it too, especially as he works in countryside management.