We are delighted to announce that historian, Graham Robb will be with us on Thurs 29th March to talk about his new book, The Debatable Land – a subject very close to home…

As all Borderers know, the debatable land was an independent territory which used to exist between Scotland and England. At the height of its notoriety, it was the bloodiest region in Great Britain, fought over by Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and James V.

When Graham Robb moved to a lonely house on the very edge of England, he discovered that the river which almost surrounded his new home had once marked the Debatable Land’s southern boundary. Thus began a journey that would uncover lost towns and roads, reveal the truth about this maligned patch of land, and result in more than one discovery of major historical significance.

‘A memoir/travel book/historical analysis/gentle political polemic/Arthurian speculation and, most interestingly, a work of ingenious cartography.’ Andrew Marr, Sunday Times

‘Scholarly nonfiction with novelistic flair… The Debatable Land was neither English nor Scottish but a law unto itself, and it became notorious as the centre of reiver violence. But Robb, like a conjuror, gradually shows us the Debatable Land as something else. His exploration of its history is punctuated by some terrific nature writing.’ Observer

‘Original and surprising… Robb doesn’t move far from his new home, yet this is a travel book, with a journey in time as well as space… [a] richly wonderful book.’ Allan Massie, The Oldie