As the headlines rage about small boat crossings, Horatio Clare has been tracing the quieter, more human story unfolding along our coasts - including right here in Falmouth.
​
In his new book, We Came by Sea Horatio tells the untold story of the small boats crisis, a story which shows the best of us. It is the story of the volunteers who help thousands of refugees in Calais, of the lifeboat crews mounting one of the great search and rescue operations of all time, of an unrecognised, uncelebrated, all but unknown Britain which is giving its all to help the vulnerable and desperate. It is a journey through an unexamined nation, a nation which is as truly great and good as the people in the dinghies believe Britain to be.
​
Part memoir, part reportage, this is a searing and timely account of compassion at the edge of a nation.
​​
Praise for We Came by Sea
​
"Good, old-fashioned, boots-on-the-ground reporting...It's a cliché to say 'this book should be a set text in schools', but really, this book should be a set text in schools. Not only does it cast fresh light on one of the most pressing issues of our age, it also forces the reader to actively question any and all information they receive and the way in which they receive it." Scotsman​
​
‘I would read anything Horatio Clare wrote. His prose is always brilliant, and by turns funny, furious and heart-piercingly compassionate. He lights up –– no, he scintillates –– any subject that finds itself in receipt of the gift of his attention.’ Robert Macfarlane
​
‘It feels comforting and right to have a writer of Clare’s skill turn attention to this topic, and he does not avoid referencing corruption and other wrongdoing by those in power’ Sally Hayden, The Irish Times
​
‘[Clare’s] job, executed wonderfully well, is to help us to think calmly and intelligently about those arriving in small boats, to consider giving them a chance and to recognise that we have more in common with them than we might imagine.‘ Maggie Fergusson, The Spectator
​​
'Horatio Clare has the voice of a great storyteller.' Michael Morpurgo​​
About Horatio Clare
Author of We Came by Sea
Horatio Clare is a writer and broadcaster. He is the author of acclaimed works of non fiction and nature writing. He also works the spectrum of mental distress, including with the NHS. He is a regular contributor to BBC Radio, including as the writer and co-presenter of the landmark series Does Psychiatry Work?
Horatio has written for many publications, including The Times, Guardian and Financial Times. He has published 14 books, including Running for the Hills, A Single Swallow and Down to the Sea in Ships.
