The North Road

LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2025

BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

'A dazzlingly inventive work of literature' Robert Macfarlane
'A wonderful achievement' Kathleen Jamie, New Statesman
'Beautifully written' Observer
'A wonderful, epic braiding of history, geography and memoir' James Rebanks

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 Britain’s great highway.

'Astonishing... One to relish and revisit'
Telegraph

'Remarkable'
Financial Times

'Sweeping, sensitive and enduring'
Tristan Gooley

'Stunning and utterly unique'
Benjamin Myers

'A dazzling, dogged, layered account of one road’s passage through place, time and an ordinary family’s history'
Melissa Harrison