Reviews

Quite interesting but I didn’t like the style of writing. Chapters were too long with too many deviations from the main theme. I was debating not finishing it, but then Chapter 6 was suddenly a lot easier to read. Not sure what I think about the allegory to the writer’s life either, but I won’t deny I learned some interesting stuff!

scooper84's review

Go to review page

informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

tucholsky's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

There are some teriffically interesting stories to be told here. They just aren't very well told. The closest the author comes to this is in the chapter on Wharram Percy where he manages to posit a theory about the black death not being responsible for the death of as many villages as is thought. He makes a good case too. I do know of places from Kent, where this is not the case, Dode for example on the Pilgrims Way but i ca see the case he makes for some of his villages.

lilyreads01's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Shadowlands by Matthew Green is a haunting and heartfelt exploration of Britain’s vanished cities, towns and villages. Each chapter explores a different place where once there was a thriving community there are now scarred remains and ruins, a ghostly impression of the past. The author explores ancient Skara Brae, Dunwich, a medieval city that has been claimed by the sea storms in Suffolk, Capel Ceyln a drowned place and one of the last Welsh-speaking villages, and Trellech revealed by moles in the Welsh Marches to name a few. The prose is poetic and moving as the author resurrects and restores these lost places in the mind of the reader. A beautiful collision of history, archaeology, architecture and geology for fans of nonfiction with heart. 4 Stars ✨.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

More...