Nan Shepherd’s deep, poetic, dreamlike novel The Quarry Wood moves between the harsh realities of rural life and the mystical inner world of its protagonist, Martha Ironside.
Our fiercely intelligent heroine longs for knowledge and to escape her small, insular world. It's not that easy, however, because as she navigates ambition, love, and personal sacrifice, she finds herself repeatedly drawn back to the Scottish landscape that shaped her. This unconventional coming-of-age story may be a bit melancholic for some...but for me, it's a thing of rare and strange beauty.
This literary t-shirt celebrates Nan Shepherd’s meditative writing, her exploration of solitude and identity, and her ability to render nature as both setting and character.