Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize
After years of secretly daydreaming about it, Jini Reddy, a journalist based in London but with global roots, finally dares to break free of convention and decides to take her 'soul for a stroll'. She delves into the 'wanderlands' of Britain, in search of the magical in nature.
Having kept her fascination with wildness under wraps for many years, she sets off with nothing but her inner compass to guide her, a compass that sends her ricocheting around the country.
Whether gazing upon ancient yews, hiking in the footsteps of the hidden folk, stumbling upon ephemeral land art, immersing herself in a silent soundscape, walking labyrinths, tasting revered waters, or meeting earth wisdom-keepers, Jini experiences Britain as a pilgrim, constantly exploring fresh territory: wild spaces that intrigue with their mythical or mystical overtones, or bewitch with their unearthly beauty. She also meets those who commune with the wild, through poetry or magic, these being her guides to experiencing the natural world in gentler, more enchanting ways.
Plotting a path through Britain's natural realm with candour, curiosity, trust and a touch of grit, this is a book in which the heart leads, all things are possible and the wild comes in from the cold, as Jini searches for the spirit of the magic of nature.
About the Author
Jini Reddy is an award-winning author and journalist. Born in London to Indian parents from South Africa, she was raised in Montreal, Quebec, and now makes her home in the UK.
Jini has a B.A. in Geography, an M.A. in English Literature and, increasingly, a passion for writing cross-genre, non-fiction narratives relating to landscape, travel, spirituality and culture. Her byline has appeared in the Guardian, TIME, The Times, The Sunday Times Style, The Sunday & Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, National Geographic Traveller, Resurgence & Ecologist and many other publications. Her first book, Wild Times, was published in 2016, and she is a contributor to the bestselling Winter: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons and Women on Nature.
Industry Reviews
"Warm, open-minded and endlessly curious, Jini is an ideal guide to Britain's more unusual places and people. Wanderland is a truly engaging exploration, full of heart and soul."
Melissa Harrison
"What a wonderful book Wanderland is! A witty, gentle, original and very modern quest for the magical (not the mythical) in Britain's landscape, which both made me laugh and moved me. I wish Roger Deakin could have read this book, for he would surely have recognised a kindred spirit in Jini Reddy."
Robert Macfarlane
"Curious and tenacious, Jini learns to accommodate both solitude and the gifts of chance, discovering at last a new way of being, a new way of seeing, a new way of listening to the complex voices of this archipelago - animal, aerial, human and other-than-human."
Katharine Norbury
"With an unusual but timely eco-spiritual edge, and an alluring blend of memoir and nature-writing this touches on themes of identity and belonging as it charts how a restless spirit fell in love with her native land."
Caroline Sanderson, Editor at The Bookseller (Editor's choice in the Bookseller)
