Dawn

An intense, lyrical and eloquent investigation into the birth of the day from our 'finest nature writer' (The Times).

‘A dazzlingly erudite walk into the beautiful expanses of dawn … beautiful and incredibly pleasing’ CLOVER STROUD

Go out into the fields and woods, the parks and riverside at dawn, before humans stir, and you will see not only the wonder of the rising sun, but much more. You will witness the fox trotting home, the hare in the corn washing her face, and the birds at song. The hour of dawn is a shift change, when the nocturnal things begin their sleep, the diurnal ones start awakening. The greatest miracle of dawn in the modern age? The world still belongs to the animals; few humans are about or have time to witness it. There is magic in the dawn.

While the break of day is when the dark hours are banished, it is also when battles start and executions take place. It marks the end of a great night, and the clocking-in for early labour. But it is an illusion. The sun does not rise, the Earth tilts.

Exploring the importance of dawn to our history, art and culture, Dawn is a unique exploration of the liminal hours at the start of the day.