Smelling of Rooks

Synopsis

From the author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin comes a candid, comic and irresistibly companionable portrait of a writer’s life in rural Norfolk.

Drawn from Louis de Bernières’s hugely popular Facebook posts written between 2015 and 2024, Smelling of Rooks gathers a decade of reflections, anecdotes and observations on everything from music, cats and motorcycles to politics, parenting and the perils of social media. It is a book about the texture of ordinary days, told with the warmth, eccentricity and mischief that have made de Bernières one of Britain’s most beloved storytellers.

Set against the rolling fields and modest peaks of what he calls the ‘Norfolk Alps’, this accidental memoir captures a writer at ease with his life, his readers and his absurdities. There are riffs on the pleasures of cooking and DIY, portraits of friends and neighbours, the escapades of his children, and the unpredictable joys of country living.

At once funny, tender and defiantly unfiltered, Smelling of Rooks shows Louis de Bernières as he really is – reflective, unpretentious and gloriously human. A celebration of family, friendship and the small wonders of daily life, it is a book to dip into, laugh with, and treasure.

Praise for Previous Work

‘(On Light Over Liskeard) Marked by de Bernières’ customary light touch and wry humour … This quirky novel is timely … a feelgood story about friendship and love – vintage de Bernières.’ —Daily Mirror

‘(On Light Over Liskeard) Beguiling … Set in a jollier dystopia than the norm, it tells the tale of “Q”, a cryptographer who takes refuge from the madding crowd in Cornwall.’ —Observer

‘(On Light Over Liskeard) A knockabout satire with twists aplenty.’ —Mail on Sunday

‘(On The Autumn of the Ace) Penned with de Bernières’s quiet, deprecating humour and sharp observation.’ —Vanessa Berridge, Sunday Express

‘(On The Autumn of the Ace) Louis de Bernières is in the direct line that runs through Dickens and Evelyn Waugh … he has only to look into his world, one senses, for it to rush into reality, colours and touch and taste.’ —Evening Standard

‘(On So Much Left Over) A wonderful … vividly peopled novel … de Bernières is a generous storyteller.’ —Violet Hudson, Daily Telegraph

‘(On So Much Left Over) This tragicomic romp has a winning glint in its eye, delivering oodles of Downton-esque entertainment as it portrays a changing Britain poised uneasily on the brink of modernity.’ —Mail on Sunday

‘(On So Much Left Over) Richly enjoyable it is written with such vitality … I would guess that many readers, once they have launched themselves into it, will read it straight through.’ —Allan Massie, The Scotsman