What with one thing and another, I’ve recently had the time to explore the woods near my home. I’ve seen hopeful spring explode into glorious summer and decay into blowsy autumn. Suddenly, mushrooms sprout at my feet. Black mould tattoos fallen leaves. Sodden branches become leprous and white. I collect puffballs, field mushrooms and shaggy ink caps to eat at home, and afterwards wish I hadn’t. Just when my senses are so filled up with fungi that there’s no room for any more, Entangled Life lands on my desk.

What a tangled web we weave, it is said, when first we practise to deceive. Fungi are the great deceivers. They are everywhere, inside everything. Behind the everyday happenings of the world, fungi are pulling the strings while remaining hidden from view. It comes from the way they grow. Fungi