The Story of My Heart, 1883

CHAPTER I: THE STORY OF MY HEART [published Oct. 1883] commences seventeen years ago. In the glow of youth there were times every now and then when I felt the necessity of a strong inspiration of soul thought. My heart was dusty, parched for want of the rain of deep feeling; my mind arid and dry, for there is a dust which settles on the heart as well as that which falls on a ledge. ... When this began to form I felt eager to escape from it, to throw off the heavy clothing, to drink deeply once more at the fresh fountains of life. An inspiration―a long deep breath of the pure air of thought―could alone give health to the heart. There is a hill [Liddington] to which I used to resort at such periods. The labour of walking three miles to it, all the while gradually ascending, seemed to clear my blood of the heaviness accumulated at home. On a warm summer day the slow continued rise required continual effort, which carried away the sense of oppression.... I began to breathe a new air and to have a fresher aspiration. ... Moving up the sweet short turf, at every step my heart seemed to obtain a wider horizon of feeling; with every inhalation of rich pure air, a deeper desire. The very light of the sun was whiter and more brilliant here. By the time I had reached the summit I had entirely forgotten the petty circumstances and the annoyances of existence. I felt myself, myself.

04 March 2026

Richard Jefferies Award Shortlist for 2025 Nominations

 The Richard Jefferies Award is given annually to the author of the publication considered by the judging panel to be the most outstanding nature writing published in a given calendar year. The winning work must reflect the heritage and spirit of Richard Jefferies’ countryside books.



Congratulations to the following 2025 nature-writing books and their authors that have been shortlisted for the latest Richard Jefferies Award:

·         Ghosts of the Farm by Nicola Chester, published by Chelsea Green Publishing

·         A Wilding Year by Hannah Dale, published by Batsford

·         Peatlands by Alys Fowler, published by Hodder & Stoughton

·         My Head for a Tree by Martin Goodman, published by Profile Books

·         The Lost Elms by Mandy Haggith, published by Wildfire (Headline)

·         Of Thorn & Briar by Paul Lamb, published by Simon & Schuster


The award was first introduced in 2015 by the Richard Jefferies Society and then sponsored by the White Horse Bookshop, Marlborough [2]. It has attracted an unprecedented number of nominations that grow each year reflecting the increasing quality of books dedicated to the natural world.

Previous award winners are: Gods of the Morning by John Lister-Kaye (2015), The Wood for the Trees by Richard Fortey (2016) The Seabird's Cry by Adam Nicolson (2017), Wilding by Isabella Tree (2018); Rebirding by Benedict Macdonald (2019), Orchard by Benedict Macdonald and Nicholas Gates (2020), On Gallows Down by Nicola Chester (2021), Wild Fell by Lee Schofield (2022) Late Light by Michael Malay (2023) and Nature's Ghosts by Sophie Yeo (2024).

The judging panel will meet in the early summer to agree and announce the overall winner of the £1000 prize. 

Notes 

[1] For more information about the Award and previous winners: http://www.richardjefferiesaward.org/

[2] The White Horse Bookshop first opened its doors in 1943 and has stood on its present site - a 16th century townhouse in Marlborough, Wiltshire - since 1949: 

https://www.whitehorsebooks.co.uk/