What do you think?
Rate this book
In the Shadow of the Falcon
Book by Clarkson, Ewan
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
12 people want to read
About the author
Ewan Clarkson
36 books3 followersClarkson was born in Workington on 23 January 1929. He was educated at Altrincham Grammar School and served in the Royal Army Medical Corps between 1947-49.
His first book was Break for Freedom, also published in the United States as Syla, the Mink (1968), telling the story of a mink escaping from a fur farm in Devon, and showing the influence of Henry Williamson's stories about Devon wildlife. Clarkson gave a particular focus to the impact of man's activities on nature, a theme he developed in subsequent works, following Break for Freedom with Halic, the Story of a Grey Seal in 1970, and a number of other novels and non-fiction wildlife books. He was an early critic of the use of pesticides and several of his works explore the negative effects on the environment of intensive farming methods.
Clarkson's books often appeared on both adults' and children's lists, and he stated that education was one of the main purposes of his writing. Clarkson also wrote several books on animals aimed specifically at younger children, as well as many magazine articles about angling: an accomplished fisherman, he was regarded as a pioneer of saltwater fly fishing techniques.
Clarkson, who lived in Newton Abbot, died on 19 April 2010.
Source: Wikipedia
His first book was Break for Freedom, also published in the United States as Syla, the Mink (1968), telling the story of a mink escaping from a fur farm in Devon, and showing the influence of Henry Williamson's stories about Devon wildlife. Clarkson gave a particular focus to the impact of man's activities on nature, a theme he developed in subsequent works, following Break for Freedom with Halic, the Story of a Grey Seal in 1970, and a number of other novels and non-fiction wildlife books. He was an early critic of the use of pesticides and several of his works explore the negative effects on the environment of intensive farming methods.
Clarkson's books often appeared on both adults' and children's lists, and he stated that education was one of the main purposes of his writing. Clarkson also wrote several books on animals aimed specifically at younger children, as well as many magazine articles about angling: an accomplished fisherman, he was regarded as a pioneer of saltwater fly fishing techniques.
Clarkson, who lived in Newton Abbot, died on 19 April 2010.
Source: Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 9, 2025
Ewan Clarkson’s In the Shadow of the Falcon (1973) is that rare avian symphony of observation and empathy—a work poised delicately between novelistic narrative and natural history, where the flight of the peregrine becomes both fact and fable.
More at
https://vramonline.wordpress.com/2025...
More at
https://vramonline.wordpress.com/2025...
June 15, 2011
Pittsburgh is home to two families of endangered peregrine falcons. Live video of the nests on the Gulf Tower and the Cathedral of Learning broadcast online. Watching these feeds and witnessing the wordless rhythms of the falcons’ daily lives is a moving experience.
The novel In the Shadow of the Falcon imagines the life cycle of several Welsh peregrine falcons from their perspective. The author manages to convey the drama, difficulty and elegance of animal life without overly anthropomorphizing the falcons. Instead, the precise language of its natural descriptions and the poetic imagery of the birds flying, hunting, nesting, feeding and rearing their young characterize them enough to elicit powerful emotional reactions to the victories and trials they face.
Some of the most compelling passages in the book are related to the environmental hazards the peregrines and other birds encounter as a result of poaching, pollution, pesticides and other human-caused dangers. While the novel was published in 1973, the environmental cautions and concerns are eerily resonant today.
The novel In the Shadow of the Falcon imagines the life cycle of several Welsh peregrine falcons from their perspective. The author manages to convey the drama, difficulty and elegance of animal life without overly anthropomorphizing the falcons. Instead, the precise language of its natural descriptions and the poetic imagery of the birds flying, hunting, nesting, feeding and rearing their young characterize them enough to elicit powerful emotional reactions to the victories and trials they face.
Some of the most compelling passages in the book are related to the environmental hazards the peregrines and other birds encounter as a result of poaching, pollution, pesticides and other human-caused dangers. While the novel was published in 1973, the environmental cautions and concerns are eerily resonant today.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews