Books published by Merlin Unwin Books

Shropshire has inspired many writers over the centuries: its bucolic rolling fields and orchards, its dramatic wild hills and moors, its ramshackle market towns, its patchwork of copses and hedgerows, its bleak and beautiful mountains. Extracts from Charles Dickens to Henry James, from Kathy Swift to AE Housman, from Bill Bryson to Pete Postlethwaite, are matched with stunning photographs by Shropshire's Geoffrey Taylor, who has captured the landscapes that drew out the words. Also featuring extracts from Samuel Johnson, Roger Evans, DH Lawrence, Henry Kingsley, Wilfred Owen, Mary Webb, John Milton, Simon Evans, Tom Sharpe, Edith Pargeter, Phil Rickman, John Masefield, John Betjeman, Ellis Peters and many more.

Few people hunting today are fully aware of the history of their sport. Accounts of the subject can be somewhat dry and academic. So, in an easy and entertaining manner, here is a concise summary of how this much-misunderstood sport has survived and flourished through centuries of change, to the benefit of the fox and its environment. Concise chapters gallop through the history of hunting from 1066to the present day, interspersed with snippets of hunting verseand song Index of foxhunting packs in the UK, Ireland and North America Specially-commissioned line illustrations of hunting scenes byAlastair JacksonHunting is a sport with not only a colourful history, but also a promising future. The next generation still responds with great enthusiasm and commitment to the appeal of foxhunting, providing eager recruits each season to the hunting field.This book will appeal to social historians and all who hunt today.

A flock of birds, even a skein of geese perhaps -- but a cete of badgers, or a grist of bees? The collective nouns of animals and birds have long inspired and intrigued us. Many have their roots in medieval times, in particular applied to those creatures hunted by man, and subject to the etiquette of their proper group names. Author Steve Palin has beautifully illustrated and given the background to about fifty different animals and birds with interesting collective nouns -- and listed 420 of them in his glossary. This elegant little book will appeal to all those with a fascination for the English language, those who want the answers for quizzes and crossword puzzles, and those with an interest in animals and birds.

With the help of expert casting instructors Symonds and Maher, you can now become a master of the flyrod. Whatever your present abilities, this book will leave you with the perfect casting skills for all situations.Flycasting, that key pre-requisite to all successful trout and salmon fishing, can be a stumbling block for many anglers. This clear, well-illustrated guidebook will show you, step-by-step, how to execute all the casts you will ever need: from basic Overhead cast to Double-handed Spey cast, and from the simple Roll cast to the flamboyant Snake cast, and many more. Packed with useful tips on: which cast to use and when how to improve your casting techniques how to correct bad habits latest casts from around the world advice on best casting rods, reels and flylinesThis book will transform your casting skills whether you are a complete beginner or an already experienced flyfisher.

An unlikely but firm friendship between a professional wildlife photographer and a retired vicar with a passion for aviation has resulted in this extra-ordinary collaboration which celebrates the diversity of Shropshire, as seen from the air. Over a period of two years, Mark Sisson (below left) and the Reverend Henry Morris (below right) have met up at short notice, weather permitting, to fly over different parts of Shropshire. Angling the small Socata aircraft at 45 degrees, Vicar Henry has put Mark in the right position to photograph the network of canals, waterways, ridges, hills and valleys, patchworks of crops, quarries, monuments, towns and villages. Mark has tried to capture the surprises and the beauty of Shropshire from the air.

Ian Niall, sportsman and naturalist, shares with his reader the joy of the countryman, captured in these varied recollections which draw on a lifetime observing nature, studying wildlife, shooting and fishing. His fascinating essays cover corncrakes and partridges, snipe and woodcock, foxes, hares and pigeons, duck and geese, trout and pike. His unerring eye for all the nuances of nature finds its perfect partner in C.F. Tunnicliffe's matchless illustrations. Together, author and artist have created a celebrated classic, an elegy to a passing world, that will delight a new generation of country lovers and book collectors. Bernard O'Donoghue, the distinguished poet and countryman, writes in his foreword to this book: 'This is a grown-up's nature book, with all the pleasure remembered from childhood books that introduced us to nature writing. Niall's appreciative eye is wonder-fully served by C.F. Tunnicliffe's illustrations which are the sealing distinction of a perfectly executed book.'

Fans of Maynard will be delighted to read his further adventures in bacon curing. The last of the traditionally-apprenticed bacon curers, the author regales and inspires his readers with tales ofvisits from the health inspectorshis colourful customers and work colleagueshis tips on curing, smoking and sellingthe burglaries, bungled deals and triumphshis growing reputation in the fieldtravels to learn how to make parma ham and much more.This book is the same addictive concoction of humour, tragedy and plain common sense, told in Maynard's disarmingly frank manner.

"The Secret Carp is a fishing book with a difference. As The Independent comments, it is one of the few books that manages to capture the real joy of fishing in such a way that even a non-angler could be seduced. It tells the true story of the events of a single day and night beside an English carp lake in high summer. When he stumbled upon a long-neglected, overgrown lake holding some monster carp, Chris Yates knew that he had discovered the kind of place about which every carp angler dreams. He set about trying to catch the huge, elusive inhabitants with rod and line. It was a quest that was to reveal many insights into the secretive behaviour of this king of freshwater fish and bring him thrillingly into contact with his quarry. Waiting, watching and stalking, quite undeterred by the damp sleeping bag and the cold. Yates' enthralling story whispers adventure and promise. And it is punctuated by moments of great drama as monster fish disturb the tranquil world of the angler. Fishermen of all persuasions will enjoy this masterful angling chronicle."