Product Description

What's a city girl doing in the country? After leaving the editorship of the Daily Express in 2001, Rosie Boycott wasn't sure what to do next. The natural step would have been to stay in London and continue her highly successful media career. But an horrific car accident which left her on crutches for eighteen months forced Rosie to rethink her life, turning her in a direction she would never previously have imagined. When an opportunity arises to rent a small farm in Somerset, Rosie and her new husband Charlie decide to take it, determined to throw themselves into a new challenge and to make the land profitable. It proves a daunting task, but it also reaps rewards that have nothing to do with money, rewards they never expected. For what follows is an immersion in rural living which is often hilarious, sometimes profoundly moving. Pigs, ducks and geese are fattened for the butcher, occasionally with lamentable results; vegetables and cut flowers are grown for a reluctant marketplace, as Rosie and Charlie discover more and more about the hard graft of running a smallholding. Gradually they, the land and the seasons being to work harmoniously together. They learn, too, about the boisterous personalities of the animals in their care, and about weightier issues that affect the local community of Ilminster - particularly the new supermarket which threatens the soul of the local town centre. As well as giving this compelling and endearing account of a new life in the country, Rosie finds recovery in the rhythms of the seasons and the complex patterns of the natural world. Throughout, she reflects deeply on our intimate relationship with nature and, ultimately, its power to heal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #236145 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Observer, 26 May 2007
'With this passionate book, Boycott has done what she can to help.
If enough people read OUR FARM, maybe Tesco will discover that its
Ilminster branch is unusually empty'

Spectator, 26 May 2007
'Rosie Boycott emerges as a thoroughly good egg: hardworking,
loyal and kind. She is interested in everything around her, from church
spires to why robin's eggs are blue, to the history of walled gardens'

Richard Benson, Mail on Sunday Newstatesman, 21 May 2007
'It is a unique combination of insight into British farming, the
media, and "pigscapades"'

Customer Reviews

What a disappointment
Definitley a case of do not judge a book by its cover. The cover has lovely pictures of pigs and hens as you might expect in a book entitled Our Farm, A year in the life of a small holding. Unfortunately I had to skip read through at least two thirds of the book looking for keys words like vegetable, pig, eggs, to avoid the everpresent autobiographical details of Rosie Boycotts life. Frankly I was not interested in her accident, her problems, her family, her career or her friends which were presented in a meandering rambling style, not to mention the quarter of the book which was given over to her views on the evils of supermarkets. As you can imagine not much room left for the poor old pigs. I shall be donating this book to the school fete as I wouldn't want to waste the space on my bookshelves.

Disjointed ramblings
Very disappointed by this book. Excellent premise but very poor execution. Didn't like the humourless and pontificating style. The author waffles on about anything that comes into her head - for example suddenly talking for 6 pages about visiting a cathedral or about her husband's job as a child abuse lawyer or about some bloke she met 3 years ago etc. These things have nothing to do with the subject of the book - i.e. "Our Farm"! It is not an autobiography.

I also found it nauseating that the author didn't seem very genuine about the subject. They are basically second-homers, sinking tens of thousands into a 'little project in the country' while continuing to travel to London to work. There is really nothing useful to learn from the book - no useful facts or tips about running the farm.

Right message, wrong person?
I must admit to getting a bit fed up with wealthy 'celebrity' types having a go at the rural life as if it were some kind of upmarket fashion accessory. Rosie Boycott will be of course be able to return to comfortable Notting Hill if things don't work out or if some other aspect of our national life becomes more fashionable to have a go at.
Despite this, her message is a good one. The supermarkets bully farmers and producers, planners and councils into monopolising food outlets. They peddle nasty, cheap and downright unhealthy food and can't stand being stood up to by those of us who hate everything they stand for. Together with this, Ms Boycott realises the rather obvious, it's hard to live the life of a smallholder (just not that hard if Notting Hill is your bolt hole).
A hastily written book it seems that promised so much more.