The Shining Levels

The Shining Levels: The Story of a Man Who Went Back to Nature is an autobiographical book by John Wyatt. It was published by Geoffrey Bles1973.[1][2]

The Shining Levels
AuthorJohn Wyatt
GenreAutobiography
Nature writing
PublisherGeoffrey Bles
Publication date
1973

Background

In the book, Wyatt recounts his life as a forester on Cartmel Fell in the Southern Lake District in the early-1960s. Wyatt, born in 1925, grew up in the Cheshire mill town of Ashton-under-Lyne. As a boy he visited the Lake district with the Cub Scouts and fell in love with the area. After working as a copy boy for the Daily Telegraph in Manchester he applies for the post of forest worker in the lakes and finds himself living a very simple life having to build his own stove, etc. He adopts a roe deer fawn who lives with him in his woodkeeper's hut. The book describes his growing bond with nature. The title Shining Levels describes moments of great beauty that he came across unexpectedly in his everyday life.

Wyatt eventually became head warden of the Lake District National Park.[3] He died in 2006 and is buried in a Lake district wood with a yew tree planted on his grave.[4] The book inspired the band Sea Power, who almost named their first album after it.

References
  1. Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1976). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1974: July-December. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
  2. "The Shining Levels, John Wyatt". The Nature Library. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  3. Talbot, Mary M. (19 September 2014). Fictions at Work: Language and Social Practice in Fiction. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-89656-2.
  4. Smith, Roly (9 May 2006). "Obituary: John Wyatt". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
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