The Secret World of Twilight by Sally Coulthard – Non-Fiction Book Review

July 28, 2026August 27, 2026 Book Reviews, Non-Fiction

This was a gorgeously written love letter to a world that’s hidden in plain sight – both poetic and brimming with facts.

The Secret World of Twilight: A Natural History of Dawn and Dusk by Sally Coulthard is now available to buy, click below!

Buy The Secret World of Twilight

The Secret World of Twilight is a non-fiction book written by an author who, as I discovered through the book, lives only a matter of miles from my home – a bit of a surprise! This little connection gave me an additional depth while reading as I know that I’m seeing the same twilights, dawns and dusks as her, and this has encouraged me to slow down and notice those same moments which are often lost to me in a whirlwind of kids’ bedtimes and trying to get school shoes on feet with a piece of toast in one hand.

The diary sections interspersed between the more factual chapters invite you to quietly observe the world of twilight. Somehow these sections allow you to be introspective and reflective at the same time as looking outside your own experience into the wider world.

The main chapters gave excellent factual insight into the liminal spaces of the day – I have already spouted 3 or 4 facts about twilight to my family (where the name “daisies” comes from, for example)

I really enjoyed how the narrative particularly reminds you to look outside your experience of the world. It reminded me of another non-fiction I loved called An Immense World by Ed Yong which invites you to explore the “Umwelten” of different animals, to imagine how they see and move through their worlds in a way that’s different to us. That’s a book that’s really stuck with me, as I know this one will too.

Here are some more of my non-fiction book reviews that you might like:

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.