Oaklore: Adventures in a World of Extraordinary Trees

by Jules Acton

​​'As rich, satisfying and revelatory as a long walk in the woods.' Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of TreesWhat connects Robin Hood, the history of ink, fungi, Shakespeare and sorcery?In Oaklore, Jules Acton, an ambassador for The Woodland Trust, explores the incredibly diverse history of the ‘king of the woods’: from a source of food and shelter to its use in literature as a plot device and muse, its role as an essential ingredient in ink, and in mythology from across the British Isles as a sacred plant and precious resource.Acton’s infectious enthusiasm shines through in chapters that open with excerpts from oak-y poems, as well as tips for connecting with nature – like how to recognize bird songs and help moths and butterflies thrive.Meeting fellow oak-lovers along the way, and trees like Sherwood Forest’s Medusa Oak or the gargantuan Marton Oak in Cheshire, Acton plots an unforgettable journey through the tangled roots of the oak’s story, and that of Britain itself.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, History, Ecology

272 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2024

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests this is all things oak: the history, lifecycle, science, folklore, mythology, the wildlife that depends on it and lives in it from large to microscopic. Acton also provides suggestions as to how to visit and find ancient oaks, how to see the wildlife it harbours, how to get involved with conservation and preservation. She works for The Woodland Trust and knows a good deal about that which she writes. Acton also goes into the science of what is going on, especially in relation to fungi and lichen. The book is replete with facts and detail. Acton also has a great deal of enthusiasm about her subject and this certainly comes through. The focus is mainly on the UK and in the UK there are approximately 2300 species that rely on the oak.
There are lots of cultural references. Bagpuss may be a bit baffling for those not in the UK. Acton also has an interesting turn of phrase.
Pied Flycatchers are described as “giving off a two-tone vibe like a member of a 1980s ska band”
There is a fair lengthy description of the mating habits of slugs which Acton imagines having a Barry White sound track. I found that just a little disturbing.
Hawk moths are described as “the Lady Gaga and Jimi Hendrix of the moth world.”
This is a rather engaging natural history book which is full of information delivered in a quirky way.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love being in a woodland, especially in spring and early summer when the sunlight filters through the leaves, dappling the floor with light. Equally good is finding a really old single tree this planet for several of our lifetimes.

Like Acton, I have a particular fondness for oak trees and similar to her too, my surname means oak, coming from the French le Chene. These are long-lived trees; it is said that an oak takes 300 years to grow, 300 years to live and 300 years to die. Though there are a select few that have even outlived this.

This book by Acton is a celebration of these magnificent trees and all the stories and folklore associated with them. She tells of how there are more ancient oaks in the UK (100) than there are in the whole of mainland Europe (85). This is one of the few positives left over from the feudal system that we have lived under for 1000 years or so.

Oaks are capable of supporting up to 2300 different species. They are probably not all on the same tree though! There are purple hairstreaks that live at the top of the canopy, so you have to look very hard to see them. They support a variety of different types of gall wasps, whose homes have been used to make ink for hundreds of years. These are just two of the 1178 different invertebrates that can be found on or in the oak.

If you like lichen, then an oak is the place to look. She has written a whole chapter on these algae and fungi hybrids, and even the Remedy Oak near me in Wimborne gets a mention. Fungi aren’t always funguys though, some of the ones found on oaks can either feed or kill you depending on the one that you pick…

Oaks are pretty resilient, hence why they live for such a long time in the right places. There are diseases out there that can affect them, but they thankfully haven’t suffered in the same way that elms and ash have. They can’t live the length of time that they do without some help and they rely on the whole menagerie of creatures and plants on them to help them survive. Even an oak that has lived 900 years, when it dies can still support a different set of creatures for another century or so.

Don’t think that they are all in good health though. We have really low tree cover compared to mainland Europe (13% versus 30%) and only 7% of the forests and woodlands that we have are in good condition, I found this quite shocking.

I thought that this was a really engaging natural history book. Acton is very enthusiastic about her chosen subject of the oak, but she is keen to point out that she is not an expert. If you are keen to read a natural history book that doesn’t have the personal backstory you may find elsewhere, then this is a good book to start with.

[Tilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

I was really looking forward to reading this book as I adore nature, birds and wildlife and especially love reading about UK nature.
Sadly, this book didn't live up to my expectations.

I found the writing of this book to be really odd. At times it was overly chatty, as if someone was speaking to you about it at a bar, with the overuse of "a lot" and so many words being repeated for no reason. It was very odd as it went from this chatty prose to then almost a leaflet of information being placed down underneath it. It was jarring and there was no flow at all.
It was like the author who works for the Woodland Trust (a charity I love), used their leaflets and information off their website inbetween her own writing. It was a really strange format and not one I enjoyed reading.

The information in the book was good, even great at times. And I did learn some tuings about our amazing Oak trees which I enjoyed.
However the layout and the way the book was written (was there no editor?!) made it really not fun to read. I felt at times it was written more for children. The dumbing down of everything got old very quick and meant I dod skim read some aspects.

Overall, I sadly won't be recommending this book. And I am sad to say that as I was really looking forward to it.

Please note that I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a big lover of non-fiction books, but I am a lover of nature. I love long walks in nature, which I find calming ,beautiful, and a source of great joy.
So then I started this book I didn't know what to expect from it, but , turned out, I really enjoyed it .
I find this book very interesting. Both informative and entertaining. I did learn a lot, and not only about Oak trees. The book was full of fascinating, interesting and helpful facts.
Definitely recommend reading it

[Sophy H · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This book didn't really work for me. I couldn't decide who Jules Acton thought her audience was. At times it felt like a children's education book with lots of twee exclamations and over exaggerating of facts. The writing style felt a little patronising and juvenile.

There were some good snippets of information but they were lost for me in the style. A shame really.

For a far better look at the oak, I would suggest The Oak Papers by James Canton, far more educational and adult.

[David P. Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025 Year of the Oregon Oak starting with a surprise discovery at my local independent bookstore.
I bought the book at 2 pm and didn’t put it down until I was done at 11:30 pm, so I count it as a page turner ;).

The author is an enthusiastic champion for the oaks of the UK. The history of colonialism by the British makes the specific lore of their oaks important to appreciate as it is tied to the world view of the UK settler colonial culture of the Willamette Valley.

The book had no mention of our local oaks but the organization of the book will be appealing to those who appreciate biodiversity with special attention to gall wasps and heartwood fungus.

[Ilana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Former journalist Jules Acton had the advantage of living close to Sherwood Forest. Her book Oaklore. Adventures in a World of Extraordinary Trees is a global and well researched outlook into the ways in which we are connected every day with nature, from the trees to the birds nesting on their tops. It reveals those ways we forgot they exist, which do play though such an important role in the ecosystem, but equally in the history and cultural myths of a country.

Acton writes with the emphasis of a scientist and the empathy of a human who got to know nature from close by, empathically. It is a book recommended to anyone looking to better understand the secret life of trees, particularly oak trees, but also as an example of quality nature writing.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of a book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

[The Book Elf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those lovely informative books to keep nearby and just up into every now and then rather than devour all in one go.

I am an absolute tree lover ( and hugger) and am at my happiest when surrounded by trees and nature. Since reading the book, and making notes of where certain specimen oak trees are, I have travelled to Sherwood Forest to revisit The Mighty Oak, been to Belton Park - home of the Ancient Burry Oak and spent many hours analysing the many different lichens that grow on these ancient and majestic trees.

I have learnt so much from this gem of a book and come April I will be starting to look out for the different galls that grow on these beautiful trees as I didn’t realise there were so many varieties to identify.

If you are a nature lover , like me, treat yourself to this lovely book and share Jules’ enthusiasm for this world of extraordinary trees.

[Fatguyreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite things to do when out and about is to have a wander through woodland. I absolutely love coming across an ancient tree and imagining everything it's seen. And I too, like the author, have a particular fondness for Oaks.

Here, the author has written an intelligent, informative, Interesting celebration of this special tree, with some great stories and folklore to boot.

The book details the history, biodiversity and culture significance of this wonderful tree, and presents it in an easy to read, absorbing, compelling way.

I read this over two wintery evenings.

5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 's from me.

[Ellie T · Rating 3 out of 5]

This looks a beautiful book and I loved the premise of looking at various aspects of the life and surroundings od oak trees. I also enjoyed some of the informative content, but I found the style and structure challenging. I wondered if the author, having enjoyed her information- gathering walks with experts so much, wanted to recreate that in the chatty sections of the book but it didn't work for me.
I couldn't work out who the author was targeting with her book. It seemed to be aimed, at points, at people who had never been among trees. I couldn't help thinking that those people were unlikely to pick up a book about oak trees.

[Rev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful book all about the oak tree and the literal thousands of species that depend on there being oak trees.

I especially enjoyed learning about the oldest oak trees in existence and how oaks featured throughout different cultures and their folklores.

This book is largely UK-based so a lot of the information wasn’t directly useful to me, however it has inspired me to look into my local nature organizations and databases to further enrich my knowledge of the world around me.

Acton’s writing is a pleasure to read—very conversational and accessible while being informative.

Not to mention, the dust jacket is so darling I love it so much!

[AJ Stoner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm somewhere between a four and a five on this. At first it was kind of dull partially because mostly about the UK, and I had a lot of trouble hanging with it ...but it imparts a lot of wisdom and important info, so... glad I stayed till the end.

[Bryn Buff · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was super cute. i didn’t know it was pretty exclusively sharing info about british oaks, but i enjoyed it nonetheless

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trees are one of those things we take for granted - we see them, but don't really pay them that much attention - who knew that our oak trees were such fascinating living creatures.

Oaklore took me on a mesmerising trip through nature, teaching me not only about these grandiose creatures, but of the fauna and flora that share its habitat.

I have come away from the book with a new found respect for these grandiose creatures.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so charming and funny and filled with fun facts. My dad sent it to me for Christmas so I had no idea what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very informative and I appreciate her enthusiasm. I was a bit put off by the variance in tone and some grammatical mistakes, but the heart of the book is wonderful.