The Debatable Land

February 1, 2018

Robb, who has written three prize-winning biographies, all New York Times Best Books, plus other award-winning nonfiction that has traveled from Paris to Middle Earth, here profiles the area known as the Debatable Land. Once an independent territory that stood between Scotland and England, it's been bloodily marched over for centuries and was the last region to be absorbed into Great Britain. Robb lives there now.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 16, 2018
Robb’s move to the singular “Debatable Land” on the border of present-day England and Scotland inspired this combination bicycle travelogue, regional history, and declaration of admiration. Covering 33,000 acres on either side of the Scottish-English border, this uninhabited middle ground originally, in ancient times, served as communal (“bateable”) livestock pastures, Robb (The Discovery of Middle Earth) explains, preserving a historically delicate balance in a region where family loyalty rules and accents vary significantly over a few miles. Later, a core group of families, like the Armstrongs and Nixons, made up the “reivers,” who made their living stealing livestock and household goods, leaving burned houses in their wake and introducing the words “blackmail” and “bereaved” into English. Robb’s passion for cycling and amiable persona provide him with a ground-level view, allowing him to observe how the reality of life in the borderlands differs from the myths, such as the inaccurate story that blames a curved ditch obstacle on “Anglo-Scottish strife.” Focusing on this one remarkable region, Robb’s two-wheeled perspective and highly observant eye allow him to ruminate through the Celtic, medieval, and present eras with ease; readers are lucky to join him on his enthralling journey.

May 15, 2018

In late 2010, Robb (The Ancient Paths) and his wife, Margaret Hambrick, moved to a remote part of northwest England, close to the Scottish border. Their new house was situated near a river that once formed the southern boundary of the Debatable Land, an area that historically acted as a buffer between England and Scotland, belonging to neither country. The area was renowned for the legendary, lawless Border reivers: the families whose marauders regularly conducted raids on either side of the Anglo-Scottish border in the 16th century. But who or what came before this history? Enchanted, Robb sets out to learn more, cycling throughout the Debatable Land and searching local archives. He discovers contradictions: while the Anglo-Scottish border had a reputation for lawlessness, the Debatable Land was actually governed by a "fully-developed...legal system" with a recognizable civil and criminal code. Recalculating the graticules of Ptolemy's early map helps Robb to uncover ancient, long-lost places, which leads him to suggest that the origins of the Debatable Land lie in Roman Britain. VERDICT With imagination and wit, Robb cogently brings the history of the region into sharp focus, satisfying all interested in British and Scottish history.--Penelope J.M. Klein, Fayetteville, NY

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2018
Robb (The Discovery of Middle Earth: Mapping the Lost World of the Celts, 2013, etc.) uses his vast knowledge of Celtic history, languages, and geography to create a fascinating book of history and adventure.Regarding the strange story of what is called the "Debatable Land," the author turns to writings both ancient and modern as he applies archaeological methods to history. This 33,000-acre site is the oldest detectable territorial division in Great Britain. It is devoid of archaeological evidence between the Roman period and the 1500s, which leads Robb to posit that perhaps it was just uninhabitable. Located northeast of the Solway Firth above Cumbria's Lake District, it was a no-man's land, a buffer neither Scottish nor English, and open to murder and mayhem by parliamentary decrees of both countries. Until nearly the 1600s, no buildings or cultivation were allowed, and cattle could pasture only between sunrise and sunset. Cattle thieves plied their trade in a reasonably civilized manner governed by March law, a code common and efficient to both sides and unique to the area. It governed the use of hostages to prevent reprisals, established the traditional days of truce, and ensured compliance. On the truce days, livestock owners would receive the value of the stolen animals in money, corn, or merchandise. Throughout the book, readers will be impressed with Robb's archival digging, especially as he turns to Ptolemy's 150 C.E. map of Britain--not just the source, but the fact that the author corrected the grid of Ptolemy's map, which was inaccurate. Readers will have fun following along with Robb's intriguing historical journey of discovery through this magical realm. In a series of appendices, the author provides detailed maps of different areas of the region as well as a timeline that runs from 43 C.E. to 1793.An imagination-stimulating work in which the past seems "to dissolve and reshape itself."

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