Guy Stagg

‘An intriguing exploration of withdrawal and solitude’ Daily Telegraph ‘Stagg writes masterfully’ The TimesWhat do we gain and what do we lose when we step back from the world? Guy Stagg follows in the footsteps of three extraordinary twentieth-century figures who withdrew during moments of crisis: Ludwig Wittgenstein, David Jones and Simone Weil. Blending history, travel, biography and a moving personal story, The World Within examines how retreat can save a life or transform a creative practice. It asks why the idea of retreat still enchants people to this day and hints at how each one of us can find a sanctuary of our own. ‘Stagg writes well and brightly about all he encounters’ Observer‘A readable book that looks at how three people tried to live at the extreme edge of the human spirit’ Literary Review‘Remarkable . . . Stagg, too, is on a journey, which is what makes his books so attractive and accessible’ The Tablet‘In an age riddled with noise and distraction, The World Within feels timely. It reminds us that silence and solitude are vital for self-discovery’ Press Association

‘Stagg writes masterfully’ The Times‘An intriguing exploration of withdrawal and solitude’ Daily Telegraph‘In an age riddled with noise and distraction, The World Within feels timely’ Press AssociationAll my life I have dreamed of retreat. Of letting go each responsibility and cutting every tie. And I know I’m not the only one. But, when I learnt about the creative figures who left their lives behind, I began to ask myself: what is gained and what is lost when we withdraw from the world? To answer this question, Guy Stagg tells the story of three of the twentieth century’s most original minds: the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, the poet and painter David Jones, and the writer Simone Weil. All three went on retreat during times of crisis, to find their work and their lives changed for ever. Seeking to understand these experiences, Stagg follows Wittgenstein to the ancient monastery outside Vienna where he recovered from depression, sails to the isolated island off the Welsh coast where Jones discovered a new way to make art, and spends Lent at the forbidding French Abbey that sparked an epiphany in Weil’s thinking.  The World Within blends a moving personal account with history, biography and travel, offering a profound exploration of the impulse to withdraw. It asks why retreat still enchants people to this day and hints at how each one of us can find a sanctuary of our own. A luminous new book from the critically acclaimed author of The Crossway, winner of the Edward Stanford Travel Memoir of the Year, and shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and Somerset Maugham Award 2019. 

In 2013 Guy Stagg walked from Canterbury to Jerusalem. Though a non-believer, he began the pilgrimage after suffering several years of mental illness, hoping the ritual would heal him. For ten months he hiked alone on ancient paths, crossing ten countries and more than 5,500 kilometres. Travelling without support, he had to rely each night on the charity of strangers. The Crossway is an account of Stagg's extraordinary journey. It describes the dangers he faced on the road, captures the people he met and the landscapes he experienced, offers a unique insight into contemporary faith, and - most movingly - lays bare his struggle to escape the past and walk towards recovery. It was a BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week' on publication.