This is titled both to link it to and distinguish it from W.H. Hudson’s 1910 classic “A Shepherd’s Life”, relating the tales of Caleb Bawcombe in C19 Wiltshire. Obliged to read this modern take as a book group choice, I was expecting a bland memoir, overhyped by a publisher as a sentimental portrayal of an arduous, largely vanished occupation.

In fact, it provides a fascinating explanation of why successful modern sheepfarming iin upland areas involves a mixture of hard labour and decisions which are in their way at least as complex as aspects of the history degree at Oxford which the author eventually obtained as a mature student.

A Herdwick ram

For instance, to breed sheep best-suited to the harsh Lake District environment requires ongoing study of the features of the rams or “tups” best suited to mate with specific ewes. The value of one’s stock is raised by winning prizes at local shows in a tightknit community where there is a high demand for tups which will increase the quality of one’s lambs.

The degree of cooperation and equality which has existed in the rural community for centuries is impressive. The common land on the upland fell is shared by a system of grazing rights based on “stints”, pieces of land which can be bought or rented between “commoners”. The sheep are herded up there in the summer, to enable the grass on the lower land to grow sufficiently to produce the hay needed for the winter feed. When it’s necessary to drive them back down to be dipped, all the commoners involved are expected to lend a hand, with the vital assistance of their generally very skilful sheep dogs.

James Rebanks has also altered my perception of the Lake District as simply a unique area of great beauty to be protected but also enjoyed as much as possible by visitors from other regions. Poets like Wordsworth and writers of acclaimed travel guides like Wainwright discovered the Lake District for themselves, as an idyll in which to escape, and promoted this limited view. Rebanks has made me aware how this disregards the existence and therefore the needs of the local rural population, and their contribution to preserving the landscape.

This matters, if teenagers, particularly boys already involved in working the land with their families, are obliged to pass exams which they regard as irrelevant to their expected future, by teachers who through their own form of ignorance seem to disparage their way of life.

So bright boys like Rebanks wasted their time at school – he only gained GCSEs in woodwork and RE, leading to the family joke that he could become a coffinmaker! None of his teachers respected the role of being a farmworker enough to convince him of the need for a certain level of education just to have more choice to do what one wants in later life. In Rebanks’ case, this was to earn money from professional employment, ultimately perhaps unexpectedly, success as a bestselling author, in order to earn the money to establish himself more firmly as a farmer..

Having found this much more gripping and thought-provoking than expected (if a bit repetitive in places), I recommend this as a read that is both informative and by turns humorous and moving in portraying a generally unfamiliar way of life. This also provides the evidence to question modern values and too ready acceptance of the way we live now. I shall definitely read the sequel to this, “An English Pastoral”.