Called by the Hills

The captivating story of building a home and a garden on the edge of the Himalayan wilds, illuminated by the author’s own watercolours.

When novelist Anuradha Roy and her husband stumble upon a derelict cottage in the hill station of Ranikhet, they decide it is where they will now live. Leaving behind the freneticism of Delhi, Roy is initially bemused by the gentle pace of life in the mountains. Before long, however, she is won over: spellbound by the landscape, taken to the heart of her sometimes recalcitrant neighbours and adopted by four mountain dogs and counting.

Over twenty-five years, as Roy becomes accustomed to living among forests where leopards roam freely, she will come to encounter nature at its most fierce, beautiful and vulnerable – and bear witness to the destructive impact of global warming on the alpine ecosystem.

Called by the Hills: A Home in the Himalaya is a tender and intimate portrait of a home, a community and a rugged, extraordinary landscape. Written with unsentimental clarity, humour and poignancy, this is an account of profound transformations.

‘Her intimate portrait of the town combines poetic descriptions of landscapes with reflections on climate change.’ Monocle Alpino

‘Makes you want to rush to the Himalaya, see the flower valleys and the bold leopards, gossip with the local cowherds, tend the stray dogs and help out in the author’s wayward garden. In every way a beautiful book.’ Sebastian Faulks

‘Elegant, witty, literary and humane. This is a portrait of a place that will touch your soul.’ Sophy Roberts

‘Entrancing, consoling, humorous and wise, Called by the Hills made me melancholy for a place I have never visited, homesick for a house and garden I’ve never known and fondly attached to people I’ve never encountered. I felt as if I held the Himalayas in my hands while I read it.’ Chloe Dalton

‘One of India’s greatest living authors.’ O Magazine

‘Poetic and evocative, Roy’s writing is a joy.’ Financial Times