Awards

• Winner of James Cropper Wainwright Prize 2023 (UK)

Overview

Full Product Details

Author:   Amy-Jane Beer
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Wildlife
ISBN:  

9781472977403

ISBN 10:   1472977408
Pages:   400
Publication Date:   03 August 2023
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

Prologue: Only water, moving on Chapter 1: Fresh and yet so very old Eddy: Snow dome Chapter 2: Torrent Eddy: Hollowing Chapter 3: Oak-water Eddy: Groundwater Chapter 4: Fly while we may Eddy: Dark water Chapter 5: Lines upon the land Meander: Bath toys Chapter 6: The meanings of water Eddy: Otter Chapter 7: The Bell Guy and the Gypsey Chapter 8: A willow grows aslant a brook Eddy: Minus seven Chapter 9: The cry of the Dart Meander: Flow Chapter 10: Trespassers will Eddy: Summer on the Nene Chapter 11: Chalk stream dreaming Eddy: Heron Chapter 12: Land covered by water Eddy: High water Chapter 13: Ouroboros Meander: Ghosts in the willows Chapter 14: The silver fish Chapter 15: Light and water Eddy: Damnation Chapter 16: Anadrome Chapter 17: Riverwoods Eddy: Flowover Chapter 18: Confluence and influence Meander: A river released Chapter 19: The Mucky Beck Eddy: Withow Gap Chapter 20: Rodents of unusual size Eddy: The narrow bridge Chapter 21: Heartland Chapter 22: A descent into Hell Gill (and out the other side) Epilogue Author’s note and acknowledgements Further reading Index

Reviews

The perfect commingling of deep research with sparkling observation and quiet eddies of feeling, helmed by a lifelong kayaker, biologist and all-round adventurous soul... small wonder The Flow is such a knockout. I loved it. * Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley * A quietly courageous, open-hearted exploration of Britain's becks, bourns and streams. * Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles * Lyrical, wholehearted and wise, The Flow is a hymn for the rivers of Britain. * Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell * Honest, raw and moving, Amy's prose is as captivating as the rivers she describes. I thought I knew what rivers were, but this stunning book is a powerful reminder of their infinity, their mystery, and their bewildering complexity. * Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not * The Flow moves deftly between deeply touching personal experience and carefully-researched erudition. It is a book of wit, of wonder and of wisdom. * Nick Acheson, naturalist and conservationist * The Flow is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary author. * Chris Jones, conservationist and farmer * A gutsy biologist with webbed feet, Amy-Jane Beer plunges the reader into rivers the length and breadth of Britain. We emerge bathed in wonder and full of fresh understanding. * Derek Niemann, author of Birds in a Cage * Part memoir, part celebration of the many rivers and waters of Britain, The Flow is passionately alive - a work of tremendous range and scope by one of our finest writers about the living world. * Caspar Henderson, author of The Book of Barely Imagined Beings * The Flow is a tour de force: blending crystal-clear prose with mythic poetry and a cascade of lucid facts, washed down with uplifting insights into life, death and the water that sustains us. * Guy Shrubsole, author of Who Owns England? * Haunted by loss, The Flow is about the urgency of a life, land and love. * Nicola Chester, author of On Gallows Down * From the incredibly moving opening scene, to a delightful conclusion, Amy-Jane Beer takes us on a journey on, in and through the waterways of Britain, in sparkling prose. A worthy successor to Roger Deakin's Waterlog. * Stephen Moss, author of The Robin * The Flow is a wonderful book: as passionate as it is knowledgeable. From Yorkshire Derwent to Dart to Dee via the Zanskar, Amy-Jane Beer really does take us, in her phrase, 'as close as we might ever get to being a river'. * Mark Wormald, author of The Catch * With a poet's gift for description, Beer makes her global travels vivid [...] She's got an ability to make even a small moment resonate, such as her child's serendipitous discovery of a carnivorous sundew plant, with sharp prose and quick pacing. The result is an aquatic tour de force. * Publishers Weekly * Beer's book examines the reverential place rivers hold in our culture and the stories hidden in their depths. -- Joe Shute * The Sunday Telegraph * I have read dozens of books about rivers and The Flow is one of the finest. -- David Profumo * Country Life * Necessary reading for us all. -- Julie Brominicks, landscape writer * BBC Countryfile * This erudite book is a joyous combination of science, nature, history, and mythology [...] a genuinely moving voyage of discovery of our ecological and personal place in the nature that surrounds us. * Yorkshire Life * The Flow is an epic memoir that inspires awe for rivers and reveals their dual nature as both boundaries and portals. -- Kristine Morris * Foreword Reviews *

A true masterpiece; generous, elegant, acute, tender and furious. -- Charles Foster * Times Literary Supplement * The perfect commingling of deep research with sparkling observation and quiet eddies of feeling, helmed by a lifelong kayaker, biologist and all-round adventurous soul... small wonder The Flow is such a knockout. I loved it. * Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley * A quietly courageous, open-hearted exploration of Britain's becks, bourns and streams. * Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles * Lyrical, wholehearted and wise, The Flow is a hymn for the rivers of Britain. * Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell * Honest, raw and moving, Amy's prose is as captivating as the rivers she describes. I thought I knew what rivers were, but this stunning book is a powerful reminder of their infinity, their mystery, and their bewildering complexity. * Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not * The Flow moves deftly between deeply touching personal experience and carefully-researched erudition. It is a book of wit, of wonder and of wisdom. * Nick Acheson, naturalist and conservationist * The Flow is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary author. * Chris Jones, conservationist and farmer * In a golden age for nature writing, this stunning book is one of the very best. -- Ben Hoare * BBC Countryfile * A gutsy biologist with webbed feet, Amy-Jane Beer plunges the reader into rivers the length and breadth of Britain. We emerge bathed in wonder and full of fresh understanding. * Derek Niemann, author of Birds in a Cage * Part memoir, part celebration of the many rivers and waters of Britain, The Flow is passionately alive - a work of tremendous range and scope by one of our finest writers about the living world. * Caspar Henderson, author of The Book of Barely Imagined Beings * The Flow is a tour de force: blending crystal-clear prose with mythic poetry and a cascade of lucid facts, washed down with uplifting insights into life, death and the water that sustains us. * Guy Shrubsole, author of Who Owns England? * Haunted by loss, The Flow is about the urgency of a life, land and love. * Nicola Chester, author of On Gallows Down * From the incredibly moving opening scene, to a delightful conclusion, Amy-Jane Beer takes us on a journey on, in and through the waterways of Britain, in sparkling prose. A worthy successor to Roger Deakin's Waterlog. * Stephen Moss, author of The Robin * The Flow is a wonderful book: as passionate as it is knowledgeable. From Yorkshire Derwent to Dart to Dee via the Zanskar, Amy-Jane Beer really does take us, in her phrase, 'as close as we might ever get to being a river'. * Mark Wormald, author of The Catch * With a poet's gift for description, Beer makes her global travels vivid [...] She's got an ability to make even a small moment resonate, such as her child's serendipitous discovery of a carnivorous sundew plant, with sharp prose and quick pacing. The result is an aquatic tour de force. * Publishers Weekly * A sublime and companionable meditation on nature's processes. -- Charles Foster * Times Literary Supplement * Beer's book examines the reverential place rivers hold in our culture and the stories hidden in their depths. -- Joe Shute * The Sunday Telegraph * I have read dozens of books about rivers and The Flow is one of the finest. -- David Profumo * Country Life * Necessary reading for us all. -- Julie Brominicks, landscape writer * BBC Countryfile * This erudite book is a joyous combination of science, nature, history, and mythology [...] a genuinely moving voyage of discovery of our ecological and personal place in the nature that surrounds us. * Yorkshire Life * The Flow is an epic memoir that inspires awe for rivers and reveals their dual nature as both boundaries and portals. -- Kristine Morris * Foreword Reviews * Beer's moving book is about water and landscapes as well as friendship, memory, loss and resilience. It is full of quiet wisdom and passion, and shows us what words can do when the personal and the ecological are blended organically. -- Elif Shafak * New Statesman * Water courses through biologist Amy-Jane Beer's deep-dive into the lyrical beauty of Britain's rivers. * Country & Town House * Simply beautiful. -- Stephen Moss The Flow is gutsy and profound from the off, with exquisite evocation of place, dives into deep time, moments of humour and surging anger at what we've done to our rivers. -- Ben Hoare * BBC Countryfile *

A true masterpiece; generous, elegant, acute, tender and furious. -- Charles Foster * Times Literary Supplement * The perfect commingling of deep research with sparkling observation and quiet eddies of feeling, helmed by a lifelong kayaker, biologist and all-round adventurous soul... small wonder The Flow is such a knockout. I loved it. * Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley * A quietly courageous, open-hearted exploration of Britain's becks, bourns and streams. * Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles * Lyrical, wholehearted and wise, The Flow is a hymn for the rivers of Britain. * Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell * Honest, raw and moving, Amy's prose is as captivating as the rivers she describes. I thought I knew what rivers were, but this stunning book is a powerful reminder of their infinity, their mystery, and their bewildering complexity. * Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not * The Flow moves deftly between deeply touching personal experience and carefully-researched erudition. It is a book of wit, of wonder and of wisdom. * Nick Acheson, naturalist and conservationist * The Flow is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary author. * Chris Jones, conservationist and farmer * A gutsy biologist with webbed feet, Amy-Jane Beer plunges the reader into rivers the length and breadth of Britain. We emerge bathed in wonder and full of fresh understanding. * Derek Niemann, author of Birds in a Cage * Part memoir, part celebration of the many rivers and waters of Britain, The Flow is passionately alive - a work of tremendous range and scope by one of our finest writers about the living world. * Caspar Henderson, author of The Book of Barely Imagined Beings * The Flow is a tour de force: blending crystal-clear prose with mythic poetry and a cascade of lucid facts, washed down with uplifting insights into life, death and the water that sustains us. * Guy Shrubsole, author of Who Owns England? * Haunted by loss, The Flow is about the urgency of a life, land and love. * Nicola Chester, author of On Gallows Down * From the incredibly moving opening scene, to a delightful conclusion, Amy-Jane Beer takes us on a journey on, in and through the waterways of Britain, in sparkling prose. A worthy successor to Roger Deakin's Waterlog. * Stephen Moss, author of The Robin * The Flow is a wonderful book: as passionate as it is knowledgeable. From Yorkshire Derwent to Dart to Dee via the Zanskar, Amy-Jane Beer really does take us, in her phrase, 'as close as we might ever get to being a river'. * Mark Wormald, author of The Catch * With a poet's gift for description, Beer makes her global travels vivid [...] She's got an ability to make even a small moment resonate, such as her child's serendipitous discovery of a carnivorous sundew plant, with sharp prose and quick pacing. The result is an aquatic tour de force. * Publishers Weekly * Beer's book examines the reverential place rivers hold in our culture and the stories hidden in their depths. -- Joe Shute * The Sunday Telegraph * A sublime and companionable meditation on nature's processes. -- Charles Foster * Times Literary Supplement * I have read dozens of books about rivers and The Flow is one of the finest. -- David Profumo * Country Life * Necessary reading for us all. -- Julie Brominicks, landscape writer * BBC Countryfile * This erudite book is a joyous combination of science, nature, history, and mythology [...] a genuinely moving voyage of discovery of our ecological and personal place in the nature that surrounds us. * Yorkshire Life * The Flow is an epic memoir that inspires awe for rivers and reveals their dual nature as both boundaries and portals. -- Kristine Morris * Foreword Reviews * Beer's moving book is about water and landscapes as well as friendship, memory, loss and resilience. It is full of quiet wisdom and passion, and shows us what words can do when the personal and the ecological are blended organically. -- Elif Shafak * New Statesman * Water courses through biologist Amy-Jane Beer's deep-dive into the lyrical beauty of Britain's rivers. * Country & Town House * Simply beautiful. -- Stephen Moss

A true masterpiece; generous, elegant, acute, tender and furious. -- Charles Foster * Times Literary Supplement * The perfect commingling of deep research with sparkling observation and quiet eddies of feeling, helmed by a lifelong kayaker, biologist and all-round adventurous soul... small wonder The Flow is such a knockout. I loved it. * Melissa Harrison, author of All Among the Barley * A quietly courageous, open-hearted exploration of Britain's becks, bourns and streams. * Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles * Lyrical, wholehearted and wise, The Flow is a hymn for the rivers of Britain. * Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell * Honest, raw and moving, Amy's prose is as captivating as the rivers she describes. I thought I knew what rivers were, but this stunning book is a powerful reminder of their infinity, their mystery, and their bewildering complexity. * Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not * The Flow moves deftly between deeply touching personal experience and carefully-researched erudition. It is a book of wit, of wonder and of wisdom. * Nick Acheson, naturalist and conservationist * The Flow is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary author. * Chris Jones, conservationist and farmer * A gutsy biologist with webbed feet, Amy-Jane Beer plunges the reader into rivers the length and breadth of Britain. We emerge bathed in wonder and full of fresh understanding. * Derek Niemann, author of Birds in a Cage * Part memoir, part celebration of the many rivers and waters of Britain, The Flow is passionately alive - a work of tremendous range and scope by one of our finest writers about the living world. * Caspar Henderson, author of The Book of Barely Imagined Beings * The Flow is a tour de force: blending crystal-clear prose with mythic poetry and a cascade of lucid facts, washed down with uplifting insights into life, death and the water that sustains us. * Guy Shrubsole, author of Who Owns England? * Haunted by loss, The Flow is about the urgency of a life, land and love. * Nicola Chester, author of On Gallows Down * From the incredibly moving opening scene, to a delightful conclusion, Amy-Jane Beer takes us on a journey on, in and through the waterways of Britain, in sparkling prose. A worthy successor to Roger Deakin's Waterlog. * Stephen Moss, author of The Robin * The Flow is a wonderful book: as passionate as it is knowledgeable. From Yorkshire Derwent to Dart to Dee via the Zanskar, Amy-Jane Beer really does take us, in her phrase, 'as close as we might ever get to being a river'. * Mark Wormald, author of The Catch * With a poet's gift for description, Beer makes her global travels vivid [...] She's got an ability to make even a small moment resonate, such as her child's serendipitous discovery of a carnivorous sundew plant, with sharp prose and quick pacing. The result is an aquatic tour de force. * Publishers Weekly * Beer's book examines the reverential place rivers hold in our culture and the stories hidden in their depths. -- Joe Shute * The Sunday Telegraph * A sublime and companionable meditation on nature's processes. -- Charles Foster * Times Literary Supplement * I have read dozens of books about rivers and The Flow is one of the finest. -- David Profumo * Country Life * Necessary reading for us all. -- Julie Brominicks, landscape writer * BBC Countryfile * This erudite book is a joyous combination of science, nature, history, and mythology [...] a genuinely moving voyage of discovery of our ecological and personal place in the nature that surrounds us. * Yorkshire Life * The Flow is an epic memoir that inspires awe for rivers and reveals their dual nature as both boundaries and portals. -- Kristine Morris * Foreword Reviews * Beer's moving book is about water and landscapes as well as friendship, memory, loss and resilience. It is full of quiet wisdom and passion, and shows us what words can do when the personal and the ecological are blended organically. -- Elif Shafak * New Statesman *

Author Information

Amy-Jane Beer is a biologist turned naturalist and writer. She has worked for more than 20 years as a science writer and editor, contributing to more than 40 books on natural history. She is currently a Country Diarist for The Guardian, a columnist for British Wildlife and a feature writer for BBC Wildlife magazine, among others. She campaigns for the equality of access to nature and collaboration between the farming and conservation sectors. She is a member of the steering group of the environmental arts charity New Networks for Nature and the land rights campaign RightToRoam.org.uk, and is honorary President of the national park society Friends of the Dales. Her book The Flow won the 2023 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.

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