The Secret Life of the Owl
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  • Published: 19 October 2017
  • ISBN: 9781473555501
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 1 hr 52 min
  • Narrator: Roy McMillan

The Secret Life of the Owl

a beautifully illustrated and lyrical celebration of this mythical creature from bestselling and prize-winning author John Lewis-Stempel

Formats & editions
EBook
2 Nov 2017
Audiobook
19 Oct 2017
Hardback
15 Nov 2017
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A beautifully illustrated and lyrical celebration of this mythical creature from the prize-winning author of bestsellers The Running Hare, Meadowland and Where Poppies Blow.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Secret Life of the Owl by John Lewis-Stempel, read by Roy McMillan.

‘Dusk is filling the valley. It is the time of the gloaming, the owl-light.
Out in the wood, the resident tawny has started calling, Hoo-hoo-hoo-h-o-o-o.’

There is something about owls. They feature in every major culture from the Stone Age onwards. They are creatures of the night, and thus of magic. They are the birds of ill-tidings, the avian messengers from the Other Side. But owls – with the sapient flatness of their faces, their big, round eyes, their paternal expressions – are also reassuringly familiar. We see them as wise, like Athena’s owl, and loyal, like Harry Potter's Hedwig. Human-like, in other words.

No other species has so captivated us.

In The Secret Life of the Owl, John Lewis-Stempel explores the legends and history of the owl. And in vivid, lyrical prose, he celebrates all the realities of this magnificent creature, whose natural powers are as fantastic as any myth.

'John Lewis-Stempel is one of the best nature writers of his generation' Country Life
  • Published: 19 October 2017
  • ISBN: 9781473555501
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 1 hr 52 min
  • Narrator: Roy McMillan
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About the author

John Lewis-Stempel

John Lewis-Stempel is a writer and farmer. His books include the Sunday Times bestsellers The Running Hare and The Wood. He is the only person to have won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing twice, with Meadowland and Where Poppies Blow. In 2016 he was Magazine Columnist of the Year for his column in Country Life. He lives in Herefordshire with his wife and two children.

portrait photo of John Lewis-Stempel

Also by John Lewis-Stempel

The Glorious Life of the Oak
The Running Hare
The Wood
The Sheep’s Tale
Meadowland
England
Young James Herriot
See all

Praise for The Secret Life of the Owl

John is one of this country's greatest nature writers...this is a unique look at the Owl's of Britain in both word and verse...some incredible facts... a wonderful little book for anyone who wants to know a little more of some of our most secret of birds and ones that should be celebrated.

The Last Word

Best of the year's Natural History: one of our finest nature writers with an essay length portrait of a bird that has fascinated humans for millennia.

Mail on Sunday

A charming essay...packed with facts and literary asides...Lewis-Stempel has a wonderful way with words...he also packs the book with the singing, ringing words of others.

Robbie Millen, The Times

In this short, beautiful little book, the farmer and nature writer introduces us to the wisdom of owls.. every question you might ask ... is answered with economy and insight and the cultural references and quotations are as rich as you would expect from this brilliant writer.

Bel Mooney, Daily Mail

John Lewis-Stempel is the hottest nature writer around.

John McEwen, Spectator