
Middleland
Dispatches from the Borders
Rory Stewart(Author)
Vintage (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 17. September 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-1-5299-7164-4 (ISBN)
Description
An urgent, beautifully observed portrait of rural Britain and the politics that shape it, from the no. 1 bestselling author of Politics on the Edge
'Rare and life-affirming' MICHAEL MORPURGO
'Personal, wise and often funny' CAROLINE LUCAS
Rory Stewart spent nearly a decade as MP for Britain's most rural constituency, Penrith and the Border, living among Cumbria's fells, farms and ancient frontiers.
Drawing on pieces written during his years as an MP, Middleland is both a love letter to rural Britain - exploring tensions between farming and the natural world, between the need to preserve and to grow, between local and national demands - and a quietly radical argument for how politics might better serve the people it represents.
'A triumph' Literary Review
'A moving, grounded look at rural Britain' i Paper
'Intriguing...enjoyable' Daily Telegraph
'Full of intelligence and panache' Scotsman
'Refreshingly honest' Country Life
'Stewart sees Cumbria's glory' New Statesman
'Rare and life-affirming' MICHAEL MORPURGO
'Personal, wise and often funny' CAROLINE LUCAS
Rory Stewart spent nearly a decade as MP for Britain's most rural constituency, Penrith and the Border, living among Cumbria's fells, farms and ancient frontiers.
Drawing on pieces written during his years as an MP, Middleland is both a love letter to rural Britain - exploring tensions between farming and the natural world, between the need to preserve and to grow, between local and national demands - and a quietly radical argument for how politics might better serve the people it represents.
'A triumph' Literary Review
'A moving, grounded look at rural Britain' i Paper
'Intriguing...enjoyable' Daily Telegraph
'Full of intelligence and panache' Scotsman
'Refreshingly honest' Country Life
'Stewart sees Cumbria's glory' New Statesman
Reviews / Votes
Rory Stewart has written a remarkable book about community and countryside, his community, his countryside. It is both telling and tender. He is treading in the footsteps of Thomas Hardy and Edward Thomas in his understanding of our need to belong and to contribute. A rare and life-affirming story of searching and finding our place to be and to cherish. -- Michael Morpurgo Urgent and inspiring, Middleland is at once a hymn to the beauty of the Cumbrian landscape, a testament to the spirit of its people, and a powerful argument for political reform. Deeply rooted in history and the land, personal, wise and often funny, this is a heartfelt celebration of local people and place, and an invitation to imagine a different kind of politics. -- Caroline Lucas A triumph... [His columns] are very good indeed. His accounts of Cumbria as a sort of lost land are stark pieces of reportage... To read Middleland is to understand that rural England and those who make it ought to be protected... We are left with a distinct feeling that this country would be a better place if all MPs loved their constituencies as Rory Stewart clearly loved his. * Literary Review * Full of intelligence and panache * Scotsman * Stewart was not your usual politician, and these eloquent articles... skilfully edited into a very readable diary, range widely across the constituency.... A serendipitous treat... [An] enjoyable book * Telegraph * A thoughtful love letter to his former constituency... He writes with a wonderful familiarity of the region... refreshingly honest * Country Life * Middleland is the latest instalment in the ongoing Rory Stewart project, which asks: what is my country, and what can I do for it?... His writing is limpid, reflective, often beautiful. * The New World * A moving, grounded look at rural Britain * i * Stewart sees Cumbria's glory... [his] writing on all these subjects combines erudition, a fine turn of phrase... disarming admissions of fallibility and a certain amount of backing into the limelight. * New Statesman * [A] fascinating and honest collection of daily anecdotes and stories of everyday folk, and of how the best intentions often end up on stony ground due to the realities of national politics * UK Press Syndication *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
200 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-7164-4 (9781529971644)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2025
Vintage Digital
€14.99
Available for download

Book
10/2025
Jonathan Cape
€27.50
Available immediately
Person
Rory Stewart lived in and around the Eden Valley of Cumbria for ten years, serving as the Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border. He is half Scottish and half English. He is the author of several prize-winning and bestselling books including The Places in Between, a New York Times bestseller, and, most recently, Politics On the Edge, a no. 1 Sunday Times bestseller. Stewart is currently Brady-Johnson Professor of the Practice of Grand Strategy at Yale University's Jackson School of Global Affairs, and the co-host of the leading UK podcast The Rest Is Politics.