Into The Mountain: A Life of Nan Shepherd

In the 1930s, the writer and poet, Nan Shepherd was one of North-East Scotland’s best known literati. Three novels, The Quarry Wood, The Weatherhouse and A Pass in the Grampians as well as a volume of poetry, In the Cairngorms, all published between 1928 and 1934 while she was still only in her thirties, established her reputation as one of the most highly respected members of the Scottish modernist movement.  Then, much later, and immediately declared a masterpiece, came The Living Mountain, her meditation on mountains- the Cairngorms in particular, and it has become a classic. Nan Shepherd was an intensely private woman.  But the author, Charlotte Peacock, in this first biography, has been as successful in finding her way into the life of her subject as Nan herself was in “finding her way into the mountains”. The writer has had unparalleled access to all Nan’s archives and to all her remaining friends and acquaintances. The book unravels the mysteries, dispels some of the rumours and gives insight into the life and work of this extraordinary writer. The result is a beautifully written biography that will surely become the standard life of Nan Shepherd. The author, Charlotte Peacock, is a writer, photographer and poet.  This is her first book.