Snakes: curiosities and wonders of serpent life

by Catherine Cooper Hopley

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

638 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amusing read. It's unusual, too, because it's a book about snakes written in the 1880s by a woman (even today there don't seem to be very many women herpetologists/herpetoculturists out there!)

I love the way these older books are written. The author shares several experiences she has had with snakes, and the way she tells the stories is so old-fashioned sounding that it makes it fun. Much different than reading a current scientific account. But if you've read anything from the 1800s, you'll know what I'm talking about. The language is much, much different. More lavish, I guess, would be one word that would come to mind.

There are a few things in the book that are wrong, because people didn't know nearly as much about snakes as they do nowadays. For instance, it was still widely believed back then that snakes' tongues were poisonous and the tongue was often referred to as the "sting." Also, there was a whole chapter dealing with the topic of whether snakes drink or not. Having kept snakes for many years, I can tell you, they do. A lot. Funny that that was even a debatable subject back in the 19th century. But this book really brings to light how in the dark they still were about snakes!

All in all, you're not going to learn a whole lot (or, not as much as you would from a newer book), but it is a hoot to read, anyhow!