"A windswept love letter"-Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment
From Viking times to pastoral Highland crofts to odious research experiments, this is the untold, real-life detective story of the remarkable little horned sheep known as the Orkney Boreray and the determined woman who moved to one of Scotland's wildest islands to save them.
It was Jane Cooper's passion for knitting that led her to search for rare-breed sheep and their distinctive wool. When she found a 'lost flock' of Boreray sheep-the UK's rarest breed of sheep-it ignited a quest that would ultimately change her life. Uprooting her suburban existence in Newcastle, she embarked on a new adventure as a farmer and shepherd in the faraway Orkney Islands.
There, to her astonishment, Jane realized that she was the sole custodian of the last remnants of a unique group of Boreray sheep, what then became her Orkney Boreray flock. She began investigating its mysterious and ancient history, tracking down the origins of the breed, its significance to Scotland's natural heritage, and the importance of protecting the Orkney Boreray from extinction.
"Jane Cooper combines intelligence, heart and passion to create a life of integrity not only for herself but for one of the rarest breeds of sheep on the planet. . . . Her trials and triumphs offer a stellar example for others to follow in their own ways. Bravo!"-Deborah Robson, author of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook "A windswept love letter to Scotland's heritage sheep and to the Orkney farming community too. Jane Cooper gives a hands-on account of her quest to save a 'lost flock' of primitive sheep – of historic notability."-Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment
"Rare-breed sheep, Scotland's most dramatic landscapes and a woman on a mission. All the perfect ingredients for an ovine true-life adventure."-Sally Coulthard, author of A Short History of the World According to Sheep
"A delightful tale about one woman's passionate commitment to save a unique breed of sheep. Small, with hairy neck ruffs of black and tan, her chosen wards are not just any sheep; obscure and ignored by the commercial sheep farming community, Jane's flock in Orkney were in danger of dying out. The story of their enchanting history, promotion and salvation is a tribute to how individual dedication can avert the very worst of outcomes."-Derek Gow, author of Bringing Back the Beaver
"Starting with the history of the Boreray, one of our rarest sheep breeds, The Lost Flock tells the fascinating and rather romantic story of the so-called Lost Flock, a group within the breed that got left behind when the rest were added to the official register. An extremely useful and very well-written addition to the library of books on our native livestock breeds."-Christopher Price, CEO of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust
"Beautifully written and impeccably researched, Jane Cooper is deeply committed to her flock of Borerays. Cooper proves to be the ultimate ovine detective, solving the three-thousand-year mystery of the Lost Flock while simultaneously securing the future of smallhold farming in Orkney. She is a treasure to the industry and a hero to the breed."-Linda Cortright, founder of Wild Fibers magazine and author of Twisted Tales
"Jane Cooper combines intelligence, heart and passion to create a life of integrity not only for herself but for one of the rarest breeds of sheep on the planet – and, ultimately, to build a community that promotes the well-being of all its members, two-foot and four-foot, and of the earth. Her trials and triumphs offer a stellar example for others to follow in their own ways. Bravo!"-Deborah Robson, coauthor of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook
"I fell in love with this craft, these sheep, their islands, this determined woman and her story: how a knitter and spinner of wool became a shepherd and changed the fortunes of a rare and ancie
