BOOKS
Give Him a
Little Earth (Cornwall National Landscape 2024)
In 2022, Ann Reynolds, Strategic Historic Environment Senior Officer (Rural Environment) at Cornwall Council was alerted to the discovery of human remains on the coast path overlooking Newtrain Bay in Trevone, Cornwall, located in Section 04 of Cornwall National Landscape (AONB).
Dr Richard Mikulski, Senior Archaeologist, Cornwall Archaeological Unit, was called in to excavate the Trevone remains, dating them to between 1580 and 1790, and identifying them as belonging to man who had likely been a seafarer.
Cornwall National Landscape commissioned Gareth to write a story imagining the life of this unknown man.
'Son of man, can these bones live?'
Ezekiel 37:3
Inspired by this biblical quote, he produced Give Him a Little Earth, a 'long story' that attempts to bring the Trevone remains back to life, at least in print.
'Four spirits assemble on a clifftop in Trevone, Cornwall to witness the excavation of a grave site. Each, wishing to stake a claim to the bones within, has a story to tell.'
Designed by Luke Thompson (Guillemot Press), illustrated by Anupa Gardner and printed by Palace Printers, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, this limited-edition hardback is a beautiful object.
For a taste of what to expect, you can listen to Gareth reading an extract from Give Him a Little Earth here.
If you would like a copy, numbered and signed by the author, the few remaining copies are available here.
You can listen to ‘Bury My Bones’, a sea shanty written and performed by singer-songwriter Toby Lobb (Fisherman’s Friends, Loveridge) to accompany Give Him a Little Earth, here.
Twelve Stories for Twelve Sections (Hermitage Press 2024)
Cornwall National Landscape brings an anthology of stories by twelve of Cornwall’s most gifted authors inspired by the twelve Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) that make up the protected landscape in Cornwall.
Taking you on a journey across Cornwall, from Hartland in the North to West Penwith in the deep south, these diverse stories – comic, dark, deep, tragic, human – will ultimately make you want to pull on your walking boots and set off to encounter the epic beauty of the Cornish landscape face-to-face. For now, read on …
‘These stories not only reach deep into layers of human as well as geological time in the land of Cornwall, they also explore between them the myriad possibilities of fiction for a truly stimulating, satisfying read.’
Tim Pears, author of Run to the Western Shore
‘These stories – dark, eery, sad, tender – highlight the profound relationship between people and the places they inhabit.’
Dr Rachel Lichtenstein, author and co-director of the Centre for Place Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University
‘An excellent companion for a visit to any of Cornwall National Landscape’s sections and as richly varied as the geology of the landscape it evokes.’
Robin Falvey, author of Fulmar
Available from Hermitage Press, Waterstones and Amazon and bookshops throughout the UK.