Middleland: Dispatches from the Borders

by Rory Stewart

Rory Stewart spent nearly a decade as MP for Britain’s most rural constituency, Penrith and the Border. As he came to know and love this part of Cumbria, he found inspiration in the beauty of its landscape, its rugged history as a frontierland, and in the spirit of its people.

Drawing on pieces originally written for a local newspaper, Middleland is an urgent and inspiring portrait of rural Britain today – a place caught in tensions between farming and the natural world, between the need to preserve and to grow, between local and national politics – as well as a timeless evocation of the history, people and landscape of Cumbria.

These are stories of beauty and ingenuity, which also show us what a better politics might look like.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Nature, Biography, History, Audiobook

9 pages, Audible Audio

Published October 30, 2025

About the author

Rory Stewart was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Malaysia. He served briefly as an officer in the British Army (the Black Watch), studied history and philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford and then joined the British Diplomatic Service. He worked in the British Embassy in Indonesia and then, in the wake of the Kosovo campaign, as the British Representative in Montenegro. In 2000 he took two years off and began walking from Turkey to Bangladesh. He covered 6000 miles on foot alone across Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal -- a journey described in The Places in Between.

In 2003, he became the coalition Deputy Governor of Maysan and Dhi Qar -- two provinces in the Marsh Arab region of Southern Iraq. He has written for a range of publications including the New York Times Magazine, the London Review of Books, the Sunday Times, the Guardian, the Financial Times and Granta. In 2004, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire and became a Fellow of the Carr Centre at Harvard University. In 2006 he moved to Kabul, where he established the Turquoise Mountain Foundation.

In 2010 he was elected as a Conservative member of the British Parliament. In 2014 was elected chair of the Defence Select Committee. He served under David Cameron as Minister for the Environment from 2015 to 2016. He served as a minister throughout Theresa May’s government as Minister of State for International Development, Minister of State for Africa and Minister of State for Prisons. He ultimately joined the Cabinet and National Security Council as Secretary of State for International Development. After May announced she would be stepping down, Stewart stood as a candidate to be Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the 2019 leadership contest. His campaign was defined by his unorthodox use of social media and opposition to a no-deal Brexit. He stated at the beginning of his campaign that he would not serve under Boris Johnson and when Johnson became prime minister, in July 2019, Stewart resigned from the cabinet.

On 3 October 2019 Stewart announced he had resigned from the Conservative Party and that he would stand down as an MP at the next general election. He initially put himself up to be an independent candidate in the 2021 London mayoral election but withdrew on 6 May 2020 on the grounds of the election being postponed due to COVID-19, saying he could not maintain the campaign so long against the big budgets of the Labour and Conservative campaigns. In September 2020 he became a fellow at Yale University, teaching politics and international relations.

Reviews

[Suzie Berendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history of Cumbria as well as thought provoking political messages. I especially liked the notion of how important local politics is, and how it can not only help at the individual level but can also transpire to national and international politics. This book made me fall in love with the Lake District even more!

[AmyAmyAmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/5 if only all MPs took this level of interest in their constituency!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short articles and essays form a passionate paean to Cumbria as a whole and and, in particular, to the area which formed the now (disgracefully!) defunct constituency of Penrith and the Borders. Rory Stewart writes with clarity and insight about the rich, complex history of the county as a whole, as well as of the constituency he served so well during his time as its/my MP. He portrayed a comprehensive understanding the particular needs of rural communities and was always a wonderful advocate for them, more than any other MP I've known. He also had huge respect for local politics and was a keen supporter of various local initiatives, often becoming very actively involved in them ... just think how much better our country would be with more MPs like him!

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Rory Stewart, I too am ‘mesmerised’ by the different layers of history in any place, region or country. Many of these newspapers pieces have thoughtful reflections about the deeper histories he observed in Cumbria. Stewart’s insatiable curiosity is on display here. The anecdotes about his father illuminate all kinds of personal public and public matters. There are some particularly acute perceptions about service and empire, democracy and life matters. Very enjoyable and interesting read!

[Jonas Hirschi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost feel like I owe it to my favorite podcaster that I picked up this book. The structure makes it perfect bedtime reading – short chapters that are easy to sink into without feeling rushed.

The book introduces a very special region, one you gradually get to know and grow curious about. By the end, it feels like a place you’d like to visit someday.

[Carine Bambara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different to politics on the edge, almost like a more interesting history book, I enjoyed learning about the history of Cumbria

[Michael G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me think: did Rory Stewart run out of money? I'm not sure why he has written this, or rather, collated it from past articles. It is absolutely worth the 99p I paid for it on Kindle though. An interesting perspective on local issues from his former Lake District constituency, with its distinct identity and very strong sense of community.

[James Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite it being a book of Rory Stewart’s letters to the local paper, the whole book hangs together well. Chapters precede with comment that draws the letters together in a coherent reflection on life as an MP. There’s fascinating views on rewilding and whether we should embrace our impact on the landscape, rather than apologetically turning into something so alien to human knowledge. He would be a fascinating walking companion!

[Jim Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rory Stewart is your typical old school British “conservative”. He has a respect for history, and how things used to be done. Where he differs is he is a supporter of the hyper local. This book looks at what used to be his constituency, through that lens.

The book isn’t one long continuous story. Stewart used to write a weekly article for the biggest local newspaper in the area, when he was MP. This book combines those articles, and groups them into areas that he thinks are worth exploring. The result is that he can repeat himself a little. The fact that Penrith had its own king, longer than it probably should have done, is mentioned a lot, along with the fact that that “country extended to Glasgow”, and the fact that the Romans needed a disproportionate number of troops to make the area stay settled.

The book isn’t one a decent read, and makes the point that empowering locals might be a good thing. It does have a rosy view of things, on occasion, that some might find infuriating.

[Archie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this collection of articles/ letters can be best summed up by the words of his mother included in the acknowledgements:

“an elegy to an ancient constituency which has now been abolished and to a vision of politics that is under threat everywhere”

Rory can really write and whilst some letter collections are sometimes a little underwhelming this is certainly not the case with Middleland.

[Martin Welsford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book. Great to read and a fun, and excellently stitched together walk through Cumbria and all its delights.