The End of the Road: A journey around Britain in search of the dead

(Paperback)

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Description

A wonderfully quixotic, charming and surprisingly uplifting travelogue which sees Jack Cooke, author of the much-lovedThe Treeclimbers Guide, drive around the British Isles in a clapped-out forty-year old hearse in search of famous and not so famous tombs, graves and burial sites.
Along the way, he launches a daredevil trespass into Highgate Cemetery at night, stumbles across the remains of the Welsh Druid who popularised cremation and has time to sit and ponder the imponderables at the graveside of the Lady of Hoy, an 18thcentury suicide victim whose body was kept in near condition by the bog in which she was buried. A truly unique, beautifully written and wonderfully imagined book.

Reviews

An entertaining and strangely cheering read full of fascinating stories Country Life

A unique insight into Britains landscape The Observer

, 'utterly compelling The Oldie Magazine

If a younger, more upbeat Bill Bryson was happy to travel Britain while using a hearse as a mobile home, this is the kind of book wed get. Reader review

Whod have thought a trip in a hearse would be so enjoyable Reader review

A fantastic read for anyone who has loved spending a while looking through old graveyards and soaking up all the history within. Reader review

Author Bio

Jack Cooke was born in 1985 and lives in London. A sometime bookseller, copywriter and Japanophile, Jack's writing focuses on travelogue and short fiction. He has been climbing trees for twenty-eight years. He lives with his wife Jennifer, the books illustrator.