<p>‘Eye-opening and persuasive… effective and affecting. Smith is trying to understand what it means to work on the land but not own it'</p> <p> <strong> <em>Sunday Times</em> </strong> </p> <p>'How we manage people’s competing claims to ownership of places is one of the great questions for the world in the 21st century. As <em>Rural</em> shows, the British countryside is a good example of how not to do it'</p> <p> <strong> <em>The Observer</em> </strong> </p> <p>‘A brilliant book about another side of working-class life, not a tower block in sight. Clever and honest, tackling slavery, loss and aspiration with humour and candour. I loved it’</p> <p> <strong>Kit de Waal, author of <em>My Name is Leon</em></strong> </p> <p>‘Intelligent, multifaceted… revealing parts of society that are too often simply forgotten'</p> <p> <strong> <em>Independent</em> </strong> </p> <p>‘A thoughtful, moving, honest book that questions what it means to belong to a place when it can never belong to you … Timely and illuminating’</p> <p> <strong>Cal Flyn, author of <em>Islands of Abandonment</em></strong> </p> <p>‘An educational and moving read that I believe no matter where you fit in society, you can enjoy … a fascinating history lesson’</p> <p> <strong> <em>Scotsman</em> </strong> </p> <p>‘<em>Rural </em>sets out to identify some of the huge and near-invisible changes to rural life… should be considered by anyone with an interest in the future of the British countryside'</p> <p> <strong> <em>Country Life </em> </strong> </p> <p>‘<em>Rural</em> tenderly reveals the precarious lives that underpin the beauty and the wealth of our countryside. Essential reading for lovers of the land and its people’</p> <p> <strong>Katherine May, author of <em>Wintering</em></strong> </p> <p>‘A love letter to life in the countryside and a distinctive rural working-class identity. As Smith and countless others attest, rural life may be challenging, but it’s a lifestyle worth defending.’</p> <p> <strong> <em>Dazed</em> </strong> </p>