Description

---

Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year Award 2024

Tim Hannigan undertakes an epic east–west journey on foot through his own homeland, from the woodlands of the Tamar Valley to the remote western region of Penwith. As he walks, he explores how the Cornwall of the popular imagination has been constructed by writers, artists and others, and how myths, projections and tropes intersect with the real Cornwall – its landscapes, histories, communities and sense of self.

A richly informative tour of one of the most popular regions of Britain, The Granite Kingdom can be read as an evocative travelogue, a celebration of Cornwall's landscapes, a fascinating account of its history and cultural significance, and an unflinching exploration of uneasy questions about regional identity.

About the Author

---

Tim Hannigan was born and brought up in the far west of Cornwall. After leaving school he worked as a chef for several years in busy Cornish restaurant kitchens. He escaped the catering industry via a degree in journalism and a move to Indonesia, where he taught English and worked as a journalist and guidebook writer. He is the author of several narrative history books, including A Brief History of Indonesia and the award-winning Raffles and the British Invasion of Java, as well as the critically acclaimed The Travel Writing Tribe. He's also an academic, with a research specialism in contemporary travel literature. He divides his time between Cornwall and the west of Ireland. He tweets @Tim_Hannigan.

Praise For…

---

“This deep dive into Cornwall's history, landscape and identity should be stacked on service-station counters all along the A303 this summer.” —Financial Times

“A magnificent work of travel and historical deconstruction – deeply personal, meticulously researched and hugely enjoyable.” —Philip Marsden

“Tim Hannigan writes with an authentic Cornish voice and a true internationalist's breadth of understanding.” —Patrick Gale

“Anyone – tourist or resident – who has been seduced by the beauty and strangeness of Cornwall will find Tim Hannigan a congenial guide and companion.” —Tom Fort, author of A303: Highway to the Sun

“Beautifully researched and written with care.” —Wyl Menmuir, author of The Draw of the Sea

“Hannigan roams the country on foot, stitching together not only its geography but its histories and communities, while disentangling fact from myth, folk from folklore'” —BBC Countryfile

“Absorbing and insightful... skilfully interweaves geography, geology, travel memoir and history with an overview of the ways in which Cornwall has been portrayed in art and literature. There's a lot to explore.” —The TLS

“The best kind of traveller, Hannigan is brimful of boundless curiosity... a beguiling book that throbs with passion, Hannigan has captured a portrait of a hidden and often mysterious Cornwall, conveying it with style, ternderness and passion” —The Irish Times

“PRAISE FOR TIM HANNIGAN:

'An excellent and thought-provoking book... What could have been a scholarly theoretical discourse is thoroughly enlivened by Tim Hannigan's decision to turn it into a travel odyssey' TLS.

'Travel writing used to be dominated by Old Etonians with colonialist tendencies; but [Tim Hannigan's] well-researched critique shows that the "travellees" are writing back' Guardian.

'A highly readable and entertaining narrative' Lonely Planet.

'A deft piece of genre-hopping' Telegraph.

'A timely look at the genre – why we travel, and why and how we write about it'” —Irish Independent