The search for an ideal society has intrigued us for thousands of years. Politicians, writers and philosophers of every generation have proposed their views, from Plato's Republic and Sir Thomas More's Utopia, to William Morris' News from Nowhere and H G Wells A Modern Utopia. In Havergey, the acclaimed poet and novelist visits the remote island and explores the idea of utopia through various objects in the landscape. Each of these human interventions, built by different generations of island dweller, provokes Burnside's thoughts on energy, agriculture and housing, forming an extraordinary and highly original book about place and how the physical marks we leave are often expressions of our own sense of utopia, in our private and public lives.
