the gifted Ellis Peters gives us photos and remarks of her native Shropshire - brilliant introduction defining the concept of borders ( )

Very interesting. It's a cross between a biography (though she explicitly refuses to make it that) and a...travel book? A description of Shropshire - of the land and geography, of the history, of the ruins and near-ruins that dot the shire, of the great houses that remain livable (though few are still homes for a single family), of newer developments (in her own lifetime) that have altered the appearance and the economics of the shire...She paints lovely word-pictures of all of these, and I was trying throughout to remember what I'd seen of them when I visited the area. It really makes me want to go back, book in hand, and check all this stuff out (and what's changed, in the intervening decade-plus). She discusses throughout how Shropshire has imprinted her, and affects her writing. The last chapter talks about what parts of what she's been describing show up in what of her books. I've read most of what she's published as Ellis Peters, and now I want to reread a few of them; I've read very little of what she's published as Edith Pargeter, and now I want to read some (all) of them. If you enjoy any of her work, this is a great expansion of view on her; if you've never read any of her work, this book will probably make you want to. Loved it. ( )

This is the story of Shropshire. The author covers history, peoples and buildings in her own loving way. Ellis Peters is a master of painting a landscape with words. The photographs are lovely, I only wish more of them pertained to what the author was describing. There were many photos, but somehow they were not usually of the parts I found most intriguing in her narrative. My favorite part of this book was at the end where the author spoke of the bits of Shropshire that showed through in her various stories. ( )