Alice Allan’s nature inspired book

Karen Neville

Englefield Green writer Alice Allan’s new book The Whispering Trees is inspired by her love of the natural world and conservation 

A love letter to her home county of Devon is how author Alice Allan has described her latest book The Whispering Trees. 

As the wife of a diplomat Alice travelled extensively with postings in Japan, Ethiopia and Uzbekistan and was admittedly often homesick. 

“The Whispering Trees is my love letter to my home county of Devon and allowed me to imaginatively live back in Devon while I was writing it,” Alice explains. “The book’s themes, which include the delicate balance of nature, and the role of farmers as stewards of the countryside, reflect my keen interest in conservation and the environment.” 

Her book has been described as “a pinch of magic” by Amanda Craig in The New Statesman who named it as her top young adult (13+) pick for 2024. Nature writer Robert Macfarlane has called it “a terrific book: at once haunting, witty and witchy, with the tang of the real to it as well as the shiver of the uncanny”. 

The book follows Liv, a teenager who moves from the city to a small village in rural Devon. She hears a voice on a mysterious hill which seems to be speaking to her. The exciting, magical read touches on conservation, farming and the environment.  

Liv has issues at school to contend with and her mum wants to move back to the city. Telling her parents she wants to become a vet and stay in Devon are the least of her troubles as the voice on the hill has an urgent message that only Liv can interpret. 

Such is Alice’s love of the environment she is co-founder of The Englefield Green Team, a passion which she has passed on to her two daughters. “We have planted wildflowers on the bank of our village green, established fruit and nut seeds to help bio-diversity and provide food for local communities. We even won a Bee-Friendly award for the village last year!”, she enthuses. 

When not helping to conserve our natural world, Alice loves to spend time in Windsor Great Park with her “very ancient Ethiopian street dog Frank” exploring wide open spaces that include 900-year-old oak trees which she calls a “privilege”. 

Her day job involves working in emergency communications, writing and podcasting about some of the most pressing and scary humanitarian, health and climate emergencies. She has also recently run a nature writing workshop at the Sam Beare bookshop in Egham and was encouraged to discover the different ways in which the natural world speaks to people. 

The Whispering Trees is available from Amazon and Waterstones.