I Bought a Mountain - by Thomas Firbank (Hardcover)

About the Book

Written on the eve of the Second World War, this memoir tells the remarkable story of how 21-year-old Thomas Firbank decided on impulse to purchase a 2,400 acre hill farm in the rugged, inhospitable mountains of Snowdonia, and how he nd his wife struggled to build it back to prosperity. I bought a mountain is a thrilling human tale of tregedy and triumph, as well as a portrait of a lost era when farming was a communal endeavour, offering precious insights into conservation and sustainability relevant for today.

Book Synopsis

Reissue of a bestselling classic that inspired a generation of 'good life' nature books

'I first saw Dyffryn in a November gale... the old house was quivering under the thrusts of the wind, and the wild, remote setting had already captured my fancy, and I will hold it till I die.'

So begins the remarkable story of a 21-year-old man who, with no experience in agriculture, visited a sheep farm on a near barren Welsh mountainside in 1931 and that same day bought all 2,400 acres along with its 3000 sheep for £5,000.

Set amidst the rugged grandeur of Snowdonia, I Bought a Mountain follows the struggles and triumphs of this impulsive but hard-working man and his every-bit-as-tough wife, Esme, as they fight to build the farm into prosperity.

Firbank's writing is guileless and immediate and ruthlessly honest. His paean to the traditional, Welsh hill-farming way of life, transports you to a disappearing world, one ruled by the age-old rhythms of work, weather, livestock and a love of the land, and offers precious insights into conservation and sustainability.

About the Author

Thomas Firbank (1910-2000) was a Canadian/Welsh author, farmer, soldier and engineer. He enlisted during the Second World War and was awarded a Military Cross. After his marriage to Esme Cummins ended, he gave her the Dyffryn farm. He only returned to Snowdonia in 1993 after a spell living in the Far East, and died in Llarnwst, North Wales.