To the Eel Island

On one level, a story about moving, in old age, from a village to a nearby town, in this case the city of Ely. But also a moving exploration of ‘belonging’ and of moving on, of the layers of past generations of the local people who have shaped the new place, and the changes over the years wrought by nature and the shifting Fenland landscape.

Many people as they get older have to face leaving a village or town they have loved, a place redolent with memories and connections, to relocate somewhere more – as they say – ‘manageable.’ It is different for everyone, and not always easy, for our ghosts go with us.

But everything connects with everything else. There is no such thing as a new beginning. Such a move need not be a matter for repining and regret, but a new adventure.

This book records just that journey, of having to learn that new place to which Time is bringing you – and populate it with its own stock of private memories.

Charles Moseley writes about his move from a fenland village to the nearby historic little city of Ely and breathes life into the history, natural world and people who have made his new home what it is today.

Availability:

Illustrations:
Black & white illustrations

Pages:
256

Published:
Apr 10, 2025

ISBN:
9781913159832

About the Author:

Charles Moseley grew up on the Lancashire coast, went up to Cambridge to read English, and never left. His varied career includes being a printer, a publisher and a peasant, but has mainly been teaching literature in Cambridge and attempting to persuade his victims to take this pursuit seriously. He has lived in a little Fenland village for a very long time. He also writes books.