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LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE & SHORTLISTED FOR THE RICHARD JEFFERIES AWARD

‘One man’s fascinating mission to save the great British orchid’ Mail on Sunday

‘Noble work in a time of great change’ New Statesman

Ben Jacob is the Orchid Outlaw. In the dead of night, armed with a torch and a trowel, he risks everything, climbing into building sites to rescue Britain’s rarest flowers from extinction. At once a memoir, a natural history and an inspiring manifesto for a better future, The Orchid Outlaw shows how we can all save our disappearing natural world, one plant at a time.

‘A vivid love letter to Britain’s orchids . . . Ben Jacob breaks all the rules with enormous success’ FRANCIS PRYOR

‘Unorthodox and precious’ Financial Times

‘Enchanting’ Country Life

‘A fearless battle and a lifelong passion . . . find out why Ben Jacob has risked heavy fines and even prison to save our endangered orchids’ Observer

Publisher Review

A daring, delightful and galvanising call to save the world, one plant at a time * The Bookseller, Editor’s Choice * It’s noble work in a time of great change. The Orchid Outlaw urges us to look closer and tread more carefully — Alice Vincent * New Statesman * If this doesn’t turn into one of the most talked about nature books of the year, I’ll eat my hat. Brilliantly written, urgent and brave — Lee Schofield, author of WILD FELL A vivid love letter to Britain’s wild orchids . . . Ben Jacob breaks all the rules with enormous success — FRANCIS PRYOR, Time Team and author of THE MAKING OF THE BRITISH LANDSCAPE The Orchid Outlaw . . . offers captivating descriptions of pre-dawn forays on to private land where housing developments will soon obliterate colonies of precious orchids * Financial Times, Best new books on climate and the environment * The book is written with a skip and drama, and will leave you furious that these strange and delicate plants have been so neglected * Mail on Sunday * A brave, timely and inspiring example of how to exercise our moral obligation to care for the non-human beings we share the world with. The Orchid Outlaw is an empowering tonic to the environmental despair evoked by the lack of leadership from our lawmakers — Leif Bersweden, author of Where the Wild Flowers Grow