The North Road

Radical and beautiful. Haunted and haunting: Cowen tracks the London-Edinburgh highway [] A dazzlingly inventive work of literature. Robert Macfarlane At the heart of this book is a highway. The A1; The Great North Road. A 400-mile multiplicity of ancient trackway, Roman road, pilgrim path, coach route and motorway that has run like a backbone through Britain for the last 2,000 years. In this genre-defying and profoundly personal book, Cowen follows this ghost road from beginning to end on a journey through history, place, people and time. Weaving his own histories and memories with the layered landscapes he moves through, this is the story of an age, of coming to terms with time past and time passing, and the roads that lead us to where we find ourselves. Written in kaleidoscopic prose, The North Road is an unforgettable exploration of Britains great highway. 'A dazzling, dogged, layered account of one roads passage through place, time and an ordinary familys history, The North Road truly is a trip.' Melissa Harrison 'Sweeping, sensitive and enduring.' Tristan Gooley 'Thought-provoking and beautiful.' Matt Gaw 'A beautifully woven and mesmerising book.' Tom Bullough