A Tomb With a View The Stories & Glories of Graveyards: Scottish Non-fiction Book of the Year 2021

(Hardback)

Available Formats

---

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

WINNER OF THE SCOTTISH NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

A FINANCIAL TIMES, I PAPER AND STYLIST BOOK OF THE YEAR

'In his absorbing book about the lost and the gone, Peter Ross takes us from Flanders Fields to Milltown to Kensal Green, to melancholy islands and surprisingly lively ossuaries . . . a considered and moving book on the timely subject of how the dead are remembered, and how they go on working below the surface of our lives.' - Hilary Mantel

'Ross is a wonderfully evocative writer, deftly capturing a sense of place and history, while bringing a deep humanity to his subject. He has written a delightful book.' - The Guardian

'The pages burst with life and anecdote while also examining our relationship with remembrance.' - Financial Times (best travel books of 2020)

'Among the year's most surprising "sleeper" successes is A Tomb with a View. In a year with so much death, it may have initially seemed a hard sell, but the author's humanity has instead acted as a beacon of light in the darkness.'

- The Sunday Times

'Fascinating . . . Ross makes a likeably idiosyncratic guide and one finishes the book feeling strangely optimistic about the inevitable.' - The Observer

'Ross has written [a] lively elegy to Britain's best burial grounds.' - Evening Standard (*Best New Books of Autumn 2020*)

'One of the non-fiction books of the year.' - The i paper (*2020 Best Books for Christmas*)

'Brilliant.' - Stylist (*Best Christmas books for Christmas 2020*)

'Never has a book about death been so full of life. James Joyce and Charles Dickens would've loved it - a book that reveals much gravity in the humour and many stories in the graveyard. It also reveals Peter Ross to be among the best non-fiction writers in the country.' - Andrew O'Hagan

'His stories are always a joy.' - Ian Rankin

'I'm a card-carrying admirer of Peter Ross.' - Robert Macfarlane

'A startling, delight-filled tour of graveyards and the people who love them, dazzlingly told.' - Denise Mina

'A phenomenal, lyrical, beautiful book.' - Frank Turner

'A walk through the graveyards of Britain guided by one of the most engaging wordsmiths willing to take you by the hand.' - The Big Issue (*Best Books 2020*)

'A celebration of life and of love. It confronts our universal fate but tends towards a comforting embrace of mortality

Reviews

In his absorbing book about the lost and the gone, Peter Ross takes us from Flanders Fields to Milltown to Kensal Green, to melancholy islands and surprisingly lively ossuaries, [showing] us how cemeteries are "gyms for the imagination". But this is much more than a collection of anecdotes, grim and jolly. It is a considered and moving book on the timely subject of how the dead are remembered, and how they go on working below the surface of our lives. - Hilary Mantel

Never has a book about death been so full of life. James Joyce and Charles Dickens would've loved it - a book that reveals much gravity in the humour and many stories in the graveyard. It also reveals Peter Ross to be among the best non-fiction writers in the country. - Andrew O'Hagan

I'm a card-carrying admirer of Peter Ross - Robert Macfarlane

His stories are always a joy - Ian Rankin

A startling, delight-filled tour of graveyards and the people who love them, dazzlingly told. - Denise Mina

A phenomenal, lyrical, beautiful book - Frank Turner

Peter Ross' new book is quite literally, as Scots like to say, pure dead brilliant - The Big Issue

Ross' accounts are compelling, but without losing the empathy and tact. Like a good tour guide... All [are] told with a hint of nostalgia for the forgotten histories.

. - Of Books and Coffee

Author Bio

Peter Ross is an Orwell journalism fellow. His writing has appeared in national newspapers and magazines in the UK and US. His most recent work, A Tomb With A View: The Stories & Glories of Graveyards, won the non-fiction prize at Scotland's National Book Awards. He is also author of the collections Daunderlust and The Passion Of Harry Bingo. He lives in Glasgow.