Laurie Lee a quitté son village d'enfance un matin d'été pour voyager dans le monde entier, mais il a toujours été attiré par sa chère Slad Valley, qu'il a fini par retrouver pour en faire sa maison. Dans ce portrait de sa maison des Cotswolds, Laurie Lee nous guide à travers ses paysages et nous fait partager les souvenirs de sa jeunesse villageoise - de son pub préféré, The Woolpack, au patinage d'hiver sur l'étang, à l'église à travers les saisons, aux légendes locales, à l'apprentissage du violon et à la lecture de disques de jazz en privé sur un gramophone à manivelle. Plein d'humour et d'amour des lieux, Down in the Valley est un hommage d'écrivain au paysage qui l'a façonné et où il a trouvé la paix.

A moving, never-before-published portrait of the landscape that shaped the life of Laurie Lee, the beloved author of Cider With Rosie'Before I left the valley I thought everywhere was like this. Then I went away for 40 years and when I came back I realized that nowhere was like this.'Laurie Lee walked out of his childhood village one summer morning to travel the world, but he was always drawn back to his beloved Slad Valley, eventually returning to make it his home. In this portrait of his Cotswold home, Laurie Lee guides us through its landscapes, and shares memories of his village youth - from his favourite pub, The Woolpack, to winter skating on the pond, the church through the seasons, local legends, learning the violin and playing jazz records in the privy on a wind-up gramophone. Filled with wry humour and a love of place, Down in the Valley is a writer's tribute to the landscape that shaped him, and where he found peace.