The Frayed Atlantic Edge
A Historian’s Journey from Shetland to the Channel
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The Frayed Atlantic Edge
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Narrated by:
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Ed Hughes
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By:
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David Gange
About this listen
COLLECTIVE WINNER OF THE HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE AND SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE
‘This is the book that has been wanting to be written for decades: the ragged fringe of Britain as a laboratory for the human spirit’ Adam Nicolson
Over the course of a year, leading historian and nature writer David Gange kayaked the weather-ravaged coasts of Atlantic Britain and Ireland from north to south: every cove, sound, inlet, island.
The idea was to travel slowly and close to the water: in touch with both the natural world and the histories of communities on Atlantic coastlines. The story of his journey is one of staggering adventure, range and beauty. For too long, Gange argues, the significance of coasts has been underestimated, and the potential of small boats as tools to make sense of these histories rarely explored. This book seeks to put that imbalance right.
Paddling alone in sun and storms, among dozens of whales and countless seabirds, Gange and his kayak travelled through a Shetland summer, Scottish winter and Irish spring before reaching Wales and Cornwall. Sitting low in the water, as did millions in eras when coasts were the main arteries of trade and communication, Gange describes, in captivating prose and loving detail, the experiences of kayaking, coastal living and historical discovery.
Drawing on the archives of islands and coastal towns, as well as their vast poetic literatures in many languages, he shows that the neglected histories of these stunning regions are of real importance in understanding both the past and future of the whole archipelago. It is a history of Britain and Ireland like no other.
©2019 David Gange (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
‘An impressive intellectual and physical journey, allowing the reader to experience the Atlantic Coast from a fresh, deeply informed and invigorating perspective; rarely have our coastlines and cultures been explored with such understanding and respect.’ Highland Book Prize
‘A tour de force’ Moya Cannon
‘This book is the product of a considerable physical achievement … A brilliant book, and a major step towards a genuinely radical reimagining of the history of the British Isles.’ Scotsman
‘The strength of Mr Gange’s account is his generosity. His own wry persona never overshadows the voices of past and present inhabitants … [his] prose is itself poetic and precise … His enthusiasm for snoozing in soggy sleeping bags is infectious … A dunking in the freezing sea, off the coast of County Mayo, leaves the author shivering but “ignited, elated”. Surfacing from the book, the reader is invigorated, too.’ Economist
‘An intensely political book … there is uncomplicated beauty as well as wonderful descriptions’ Country Life
‘Gange is both extraordinarily intrepid and deeply attentive to all he encounters … worth attention for its deeper argument as well as its thrilling surface.’ Spectator
‘[Gange is] physically resourceful, articulate, clear-eyed, informed, attentive to the realities, and crucially at home in all the elements. A book reliant in the end on one key fact: edges are revelatory.’ Adam Nicolson, winner of the Wainwright Prize 2018
‘This beautifully written and grippingly researched book shows us that our shores are the beginning, not the ending, of things.’ Philip Hoare
‘Energetic, entertaining and erudite … Sometimes boisterous, sometimes lyrical but always engaging.’ Donald Murray
What listeners say about The Frayed Atlantic Edge
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 13-04-21
Great book, despite the bad pronunciation
David Gange was my lecture at university, so I had heard of the project before reading this book. Loved the book and it changed my view of history. The narrator can't even pronounce 'Cymru', which is completely at odds with the celtophile nature of the book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jeanie w o maclean
- 11-03-20
A wondrous book
A new perspective on our coastal waters. From Shetland Southwards we are carried on the currents of description of areas mostly explored on land. The story of the canoe boys who travelled to Skye in canvas canoes with no experience of sea canoeing will stay with me forever. I loved the rhythm of this book, like the tide it ebbed and flowed. However, I listened to it on audible and although Ed Hughes had the right tone and his voice was pleasant to spend time with, who on earth chose him to mispronounce almost all the Scottish words? His use of Gaelic was physically painful to hear, place names which inhabit people’s hearts were trashed on his tongue. Was there no guidance given to him on pronunciation? Names of islands rendered unrecognisable, the mountains and lochs of Skye reduced to nonsensical sound. A good reading voice which threatened to ruin a jewel of a book through sloppy research on pronunciation. Surely audible have competent Scottish readers available to do this stunning book justice? I have given it five stars because it is a truly wonderful book, don’t miss the experience of reading it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ewan
- 29-08-19
exceptionally refreshing and thought provoking
I've exceptionally enjoyed listening to this along with the Kindle version when I wanted to pause and make notes on more detail. the combination of the excellent narration with the writing style provides a visceral and evocative window into the perspectives of the Communities he describes on this this journey. I think I got more from this book because I'd already read about half a dozen of the other books he refers to on his journey but I've been left with doesn't more I wish to read in the future
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- JOhn
- 22-12-20
A nice listen
Many subjects feature in this audiobook - travel, the outdoors, wildlife, history, politics, language, literature etc. It’s an easy listen, doesn’t go too in-depth into any one subject and moves along at a good pace, linking the varied themes together nicely. I found the accompanying Wordpress site really useful to better understand the geography of the journey, although more mapping detail on some of the route sections would have been good. The narrator’s voice and style are fine, but the absolute butchering of Scottish place names was a bit sloppy - surely someone should have checked this before it was released? No one could be expected to pronounce all those languages and dialects with complete accuracy, but seriously, whoever heard of the Skye ‘coalin’ or the Isle of ‘Isslay’?
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 02-02-24
hampered my massive mispronunciations
book itself is excellent- but the reading is hampered by a huge number of mispronuncuations - including really basic stuff (eg plover spoken to rhyme with clover, Islay to rhyme with Mislay!!!!!)
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Fergal
- 08-03-24
Oh please record this again...
A wonderful and inspiring book, but pompous narration with the worst pronunciation imaginable make this a painful listen.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Deryck Irving
- 15-12-22
A little research would have improved the narration
I’m reviewing this while only part way through the book. The concept behind the book is fascinating and the book is well written. The pace and delivery of the narration is good but there is a huge irony that a book which makes much of the importance of language has such appalling pronunciation of place names and people’s names. Surely a little research on Gaelic pronunciation (for example) should have been done. It’s not just the mistakes - they’re not even consistent! Cuillin has several (all incorrect) pronunciations for example. I have almost abandoned the audiobook in favour of a paper copy several times, but I’m persevering.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Elaine & Edward Jackson
- 27-08-20
Made me fall in love again with the British isles
A wonderful telling of the history of the Atlantic coast of the British isles. Some have commented on the narrator’s accent when reading Scottish place names, I actually found it to be pretty good, maybe as good as possible for a non-Scot. The sections on the islands of Scotland was my favourite part of the book and left me craving to visit these beautiful areas.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. Harris
- 02-07-20
Exceptional story,
Yes, as other reviewers have pointed out, some of the place names are mispronounced. But if you can put up with this, simply a brilliant combination of travel and history.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mr Chops
- 29-08-20
pompous
This is a guy who likes to waffle on without really saying much. Some people might be impressed but it didn’t work for me.
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