THE NO. 1 BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF POLITICS ON THE EDGE

Combining memoir, history and travel writing, a moving exploration of landscape, identity and the love between a father and son.

Rory Stewart and his father set out on their final walk together along the border between England and Scotland.

On their 600-mile thirty-day journey, the pair relive Scottish dances, talk about Burmese honey bears and the loss of human presence in the countryside around them. Their odyssey develops into story of nationhood and landscape, and an exuberant encounter between father and son. Written with pathos and wit, Stewart’s memoir is a moving, honest and loving portrait of his father and homeland.

‘Travel writing at its best’ Observer
‘Beautifully written… a haunting reflection of identity and our relationships with the people and places we love’ Daily Mail

Please note: The book cover received may differ from the cover displayed here.

Prizes

Long-listed for Orwell Prize 2017 (UK)

I thought at first Rory's book was about the French political party, but blow me it is all about our native heath, plus his dad, and is one of the most original books we have had in 33 years of the prize -- Hunter Davies, Lakeland Book of the Year, 2017
Engaging, intelligent, and ultimately moving. -- Stuart Kelly * Scotsman *
Suggests an open-mindedness in Stewart, a tolerance and flexibility that could make him an exceptional politician while it also continues to define him as a writer. -- Andrew Motion * New York Review of Books *
[A] bewitching book… The entrancing bond between Stewart and his father brings the book alive. -- Tristram Hunt * Sunday Times *
Engaging, intelligent and ultimately moving…in some ways, Rory Stewart resembles a Robert MacFarlane who has chosen geopolitics over metaphysics. * Scotland on Sunday *
This is travel writing at its best. -- Katherine Norbury * Observer *
Stewart is the nearest person I have identified in real life to Rudyard Kipling’s Kim, the all-seeing, all-knowing man-child of Empire… The heart of the book is about love… He is observant, gently mocking and he writes beautifully. -- Melanie Reid * The Times *
He is a gift to literature. -- Sarah Sands * Evening Standard *
[Stewart] has a roving, enquiring mind, which makes him on the page…most agreeable company… This roving, discursive book is a delight to read. -- Allan Massie * Literary Review *
The Marches is a memoir full of depth and beguiling humour… His prose is captivating and I hugely admired his dedication in getting to know closely the landscape and people he serves in Parliament. -- Charlotte Runice * Prospect *
[A] substantial and very impressive book... [a] profoundly moving portrait of Stewart’s father. -- Philip Marsden * Spectator *
As a collective portrait of both father and homeland, The Marches is a deeply moving, honest and loving portrait, even if Britain and Brian are seldom what they seem. -- Barnaby Rogerson * Country Life. *
The book is held together by Mr Stewart's writing, with his short chapters moving skilfully from history to personal encounter. -- Andrew Lownie * Wall Street Journal *
Stewart’s descriptions are moving… This writer refreshes the parts that other writers cannot reach: he has the stamina and interest to investigate the hidden ‘glamour’ behind regions and peoples with unpromising veneers. -- Mary Killen * Lady *
The delight of it lies in his encounters with the specific rather than in ruminations about the general. He has an alert eye for the awkward detail – the things that don’t quite fit with the tone of a scene. It makes him an enjoyable and persuasive writer. -- Ian Jack * Guardian *
[An] elegantly written account. -- Tom Chessyhre * The Times *
Like father, like son, for both come across as hugely talented, hugely driven misfits. -- National
The Marches marks him [Stewart] out not only as a writer but as a political force rooted in geographies so different to London as to shed new light on politics itself… [A] serious politician, social critic, and practical ethnographer at work. As such The Marches is a book for walkers, for those who love the Borders, and for fathers seeking inspiration in their family responsibilities… If this is the polymath as politician, then we need more of them. -- Frances Davis * Conservative Home *
This is so much more than the story of their journey – it’s a superbly written, endlessly fascinating book encompassing history, geology, landscape, family memories, wars experienced and lives well lived. * Choice Magazine *
One of the most unexpected and enjoyable reads of 2016… The book fizzes erudition and is delightfully leavened by the companionship of his aged and doughty father. * Guardian, Readers' Book of the Year *

Rory Stewart lived in and around the Eden Valley of Cumbria for ten years, serving as the Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border. He is half Scottish and half English. He is the author of several prize-winning and bestselling books including The Places in Between, a New York Times bestseller, and, most recently, Politics On the Edge, a no. 1 Sunday Times bestseller. Stewart is currently Brady-Johnson Professor of the Practice of Grand Strategy at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, and the co-host of the leading UK podcast The Rest Is Politics.