Animal Saga

by Henry Williamson

Animal Saga Williamson, Henry

Genres: Nature

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Henry William Williamson was an English soldier, naturalist, farmer and ruralist writer known for his natural history and social history novels, as well as for his fascist sympathies. He won the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 with his book Tarka the Otter.

Henry Williamson is best known for a tetralogy of four novels which consists of The Beautiful Years (1921), Dandelion Days (1922), The Dream of Fair Women (1924) and The Pathway (1928). These novels are collectively known as The Flax of Dream and they follow the life of Willie Maddison from boyhood to adulthood in a rapidly changing world.

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read Salar the Salmon and Tarka the Otter as separate books. I read this book, which is an omnibus of four books including those, to get The Epic of Brock the Badger and Chakchek the Peregrine. The latter two are hard to find otherwise.

Brock is a large boar badger; this is now the apex predator in Britain and has been known to kill foxes. As with Tarka, the badger is hunted for sport at the time described, though not now, but he inflicts wounds on the hounds and terriers. The so-called sportsmen insist on digging the harmless animal out of his sett so the dogs can chase it. Otherwise we get a detailed and lively account of the badgers as they forage and ramble around fields, hedgerows and woods.

Chakchek is a shorter story than Brock, which is shorter than Tarka and Salar. The account of the peregrine family is detailed but failed to really grip me. Partly because I thought calling the female bird Altair after a constellation the Eagle, and having her eventually die with her beak pointing to Altair in the sky, was far too forced and meaningless in the context of a bird on the moorland. But it is worth a read. This was set before DDT in insecticide contaminated the food chain and accumulated, making raptor eggs infertile.

Naturalists or those who wish to study British countryside at this period will enjoy this book. Another book I recommend is Ewan Clarkson's Break For Freedom about a mink who escapes the fur farm. This and Tarka are a great introduction to ecology for a young teen reader.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so I read the following:

Tarka the Otter
Epic of Brock the Badger
Chakchek the Peregrine

All were lovely to read, but not what I was expecting. It was slightly like reading a nature documentary - less story more observation? If someone read it as an audio book, Attenborough would be your man. Detailed and had an air of 'explanation' about it. Not the cute fluffy otter tale I was expecting - more nature/brutality/hardship/reality. I liked all three in different ways though.

Salar the Salmon is also in this collection and I might go back and read this when I feel like a change of pace.

[Megan J]

"Tarka the Otter" is perfect. Williamson is a master. Tarka was warm and light and, above all, an otter. The book was heavy and heartbreaking - it was real. I would recommend it to anyone.

"Brock the Badger" wasn't as good as "Tarka." It felt like it was a half-baked idea. I missed Brock's life but still fell in love with him. And the ending had me smiling.

"Chakchek the Peregrine..." Oh my god, the ending! So good.

"Salar the Salmon" was my least favorite - but, in my opinion, Williamson did probably the best he could to portray the life of a fish and educate us on how mankind is hurting their natural habitat.