X-Book

The Lost Elms: A Love Letter to Our Vanished Trees – and the Fight to Save Them

Click Buy to Log in and see personalised pricing.

Send as a gift Get in the xigxag app

Listen to a sample

What to expect

A Guardian 'Book of the day'

Winner of the Richard Jefferies Award for Nature Writing

Shortlisted for the 2025 Highland Book Prize




'A captivating book' - Independent
'Her enthusiasm is contagious.' - Guardian
'A meditation on life, culture and trees.' - FRED PEARCE
'Unofficial poet laureate of our woodlands.' - Scotsman

________________

For millennia,
elms shaped our landscape and our folklore;
then they started dying.

Few young people have seen a mature elm tree. They once covered great swathes of Europe and North America, but Dutch elm disease has since killed hundreds of millions worldwide, forever altering our landscapes.

The Lost Elms is a love letter to our nearly vanished elms and a rallying cry for their long, slow fight back. It tells the gripping story of the scientists desperately trying to halt the disease's relentless progress, and shares the latest research uncovering the intricate links between elms and other species. Woven throughout is a deeply lyrical look at the tree's central place in our history, mythology, poetry and folklore.

Crucially, there is hope. Recent breakthroughs reveal elms to be more resilient than we ever imagined. The Lost Elms shows how the strength of this noble tree can offer positive lessons for the future - lessons which one day might help us save other disappearing species.

Critics Review

Her enthusiasm is contagious. As someone who began this book with literally no idea what an elm looks like, I was inspired to download the Woodland Trust tree-ID app and resolve to pay more attention to our ligneous friends.
Guardian
Haggith's captivating book is full of personal reflections and anecdotes. It is engagingly written and has important things to say about globalisation, the threat of climate change and the value of biosecurity.
Independent
Unofficial poet laureate of our woodlands.
Scotsman
Not just an elegy to our lost elms but also a meditation on life, culture and trees.
Fred Pearce, author of FALLOUT: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE NUCLEAR AGE
This book defies us not to fall in love with elm trees, with the idea of elms and all that their loss and what remains represents to us.
Caught by the River
Mandy Haggith creates an engaging and inspirational portrayal of this culturally significant and iconic tree . . . As a poet and novelist, her deftly sprinkled and subtle imagery brings the erudite narrative to life, helping to reveal 'the complicated intimacy between people and trees' . . . This heartfelt and enlightening book should interest anyone who loves trees.
Permaculture Magazine
Author Mandy Haggith
Narrator Lucie McNeil
Duration 9 hours and 21 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781035412365
Format Audiobook
Publisher Headline
Genre Endangered species and extinction of species, Environmental management, Forests and woodland, Trees, wildflowers and plants: general interest
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

About xigxag

xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK’s only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.

There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at £8.99. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from £3.99. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.

Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.

Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.