Summary of James Rebanks' The Shepherd's Life

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of James Rebanks' The Shepherd's Life in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, his family have lived and worked in the Lake District of Northern England for generations, further back than recorded history. It's a part of the world known mainly for its romantic descriptions by Wordsworth and the much loved illustrated children's books of Beatrix Potter. But James' world is quite different. His way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand. It hasn't changed for hundreds of years: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the grueling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the hills and valleys.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Nov 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638159346

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights on James Rebanks's The Shepherds Life

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The author was born in the 1970s in a town in England that was divided between a grammar school and a comprehensive school. He realized at a young age that he had absolutely no interest in going to the former and that it would have been completely dangerous for him to try and display his intelligence in the latter.

#2

The author was a problematic student who frequently got into fights with other students and the teachers. One day, he got into a fight with his teacher and was sent home early. While he was there, he had a revelation about the life his parents had chosen for him, working on a farm.

#3

The speaker, a woman, loved the outdoors and was extremely passionate about it. She spoke about the Lake District in England, a region known for its mountains, lakes, and leisure. But to the young men, the place was nothing more than a playground for an itinerant group of climbers, poets, walkers, and daydreamers.

#4

The Lake District in England is a prime example of how the Romantic movement changed the landscape and how it is perceived around the world.

#5

Urbanization and industrialization have changed the Lake District drastically. The area is now visited by 16 million people a year, who spend over a billion pounds.

#6

Wordsworth and his friends created the Lake District, but it came with a price. The community of shepherds and small farmers lived free of the aristocratic elites that dominated people’s lives elsewhere, and in Wordsworth’s eyes, this provided a model for a good society.

#7

The author wanted to understand the Lake District and its people, so he spent a year there studying their culture.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

There is no beginning and no end. The sun rises and sets each day, and the seasons come and go. We are