In 2019, Jenna Watt took part in the stalking of a hind on the vast Highland estate of Corrour: part of an immersive attempt to understand the ideas that lie behind ‘rewilding’, and what it means emotionally and physically to participate in Scotland’s deer cull. Piece by piece and chapter by chapter she unravels the story of that one day spent hunting the hind, interlaced with her discovery that her ancestors were deer stalkers, game keepers and ghillies on a Highland estate, who once took part in increasingly controversial land practices like muirburn and species persecution.
This exploration leads her into the complex and often conflict-ridden world of the rewilding movement. She meets the ‘Wolf Man’ of the Highlands, who wants to introduce the first wild wolves back into Scotland for over 300 years; a mountain ecologist who ranges alone across the landscape to track the environmental impact of deer on Scotland’s upland ecosystem; landowners who are reintroducing species like beaver, onto their estates; and a female deer stalker, who is trying to introduce more women into the male-dominated world of stalking and game-keeping.
In the process, Jenna comes to better understand the meaning of ‘wildness’, the shifting baselines of ‘rewilding’, and, in a world beset by climate change and species extinction, how to cope, both as an individual and as a society, with the concept of ecological grief.
Press
‘Offers some refreshingly novel perspectives on the vexed question of deer management in Scotland…bring[ing] a clear-eyed feminist perspective to everything she sees’
Scotland on Sunday
‘Offers a refreshing perspective on subjects such as wildness, how to cope with ecological grief, reintroducing beavers and the social devastation wrought by the Highland clearances.’
Countryfile Magazine
‘Hindsight is about much more than deer... Watt has an unsparing eye for whims and ecological blindspots.’
The Times Literary Supplement
’Hindsight takes the reader into the heart of this debate…the way [Watt] has written the opening chapters is beautiful…emotional stuff.’
BBC Radio Scotland Afternoon Show
‘An intriguing read that ventured down all sorts of fascinating rabbit holes’
Scotland The Big Picture
‘A real eye-opener and well put together. There have been several books on rewilding lately, but few ask the question ‘Is this the right way?’
Birdwatching Magazine
‘Watt goes far deeper into Scotland’s relationship with red deer. It may be a book about deer, but it’s also about people, habitats, history, landownership, grief and belonging.’
Spectator
‘Well-written and honest, Hindsight is a brilliant read for the curious.’
Scottish Field
‘the book touches on many aspects of conservation which affect the Highlands, giving a voice to various perspective in the conversation’
Inverness Courier
Upcoming Events
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Previous Events
27.01.24 - Wild Writers Festival
30.06.23 - Listen to the Land, Scottish Game Fair, Scone Palace Parklands.
30.03.23 - In Conversation with author Andrew Painting with the Edinburgh Bookshop
23.03.23 - Highland Book Prize Longlist event with the Highland Bookshop, Fort William
12.08.22 - Lighthouse Books: Book Fringe
01.08.22 - Aboyne & Deeside Festival
22.07.22 - Big Lit Festival