The Minack series of books written by Derek Tangye are all about how he and his wife chucked their busy, successful lives in London and opted to move to an isolated cottage perched on a cliff in Cornwall and raise a crop of daffodils and freesias in the spring and tomatoes in the summer. Becoming “slaves to the land” wasn’t something that happened naturally or immediately and the books humorously detail all that the couple went through. Each book describes their country life and often introduces the animals that share their lives with them. From cats, to donkeys, seagulls to foxes, both the domestic animals and the wild ones are considered Minack’s own by the Tangyes.

The Way to Minack actually spends very little time at Minack but instead tells the story of their early life, how they met and married and why they eventually decided to try this alternative lifestyle. I missed the many descriptions of the Cornish countryside and the adventures of their animals, but it was interesting to see where they came from and why they originally decided to give up the city life. ( )