Book Review: Deeper Into The Wood

My review of Ruth Pavey’s latest memoir Deeper Into The Wood, about her Somerset wood to be published by Duckworth in May.

Declaration: I was provided with a free advance review copy of this book by the publishers with an invitation to provide a fair and balanced review. No cash payment was received for this review and the views expressed are free of any interference by the author and publisher. This post includes affiliate links, which means that I will earn a small percentage from any purchases following any link provided.

Following the success of Ruth Pavey’s debut memoir A Wood of One’s Own (Duckworth, 2019), which introduced readers to her four-acres of verdant land in the Somerset Levels, Ruth reflects further on the fate of her wood.

I had the privilege of listening to the author reading some extracts from her first book at a book festival in 2019. I was intrigued by how someone completely new to the complexities of owning and managing a wood might ‘have a go’. I found the author’s storytelling highly readable and engaging, and her own illustrations delightful.

With this her second memoir, coming next from month from Duckworth, Deeper Into The Wood takes a much deeper delve … well, into the wood. But it is much more than that. There is a gradual unveiling of the author’s realisation of the fragility of the natural world, and not just in the context of her own wood.

Ruth Pavey spins a delicate web between the many branches of her little Somerset wood. Her closely-observed changes of wildlife and the changing seasons, echo a growing awareness and concern for life on Earth itself. The author’s growth and metamorphosis into an amateur naturalist who has learnt to read the language of trees is profoundly inspirational.

Ruth Pavey spins a delicate web between the many branches of her little Somerset wood. Her closely-observed changes of wildlife and the changing seasons, echo a growing awareness and concern for life on Earth itself. The author’s growth and metamorphosis into an amateur naturalist who has learnt to read the language of trees is profoundly inspirational.

Although there is no necessity to do so, if you’ve not read A Wood Of One’s Own, I recommend you do so before exploring Deeper Into The Wood, not least because you will find double the satisfaction in a good read.

Publish Date: 15th May 2021
Publisher: Duckworth
ISBN: Hardback 9780715654279 | Paperback 9780715654279