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Creatures of Story and Song: Tracing Britain’s Lost Species
Not yet published
Expected 20 Nov 26312 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication November 20, 2026
About the author
Lee Raye
5 books4 followersWhy do I write? Well, I love learning about obscure old texts and long-forgotten events. I've studied local history and legends in Scotland (at the University of Aberdeen), England (at the University of Oxford) and Wales (at Cardiff University where I got my PhD).
Somewhere in the middle of my studies I realised that I need something much more than just an intellectual challenge to get me excited about writing. When I first discovered wildlife history it came like a breath of wind through a musty old library. Books overturned, paper flew everywhere, and when it settled, my perspective had changed, and everything was different.
My aim is to write nature-centric accounts. I don’t always succeed, but I dream of telling the story of the history of animals and plants in Britain without centring my story on human history. In my books and articles, I talk about concrete subjects, never just vague "themes". Everything I write is intended to have real implications for how we view the world today. My work is truly interdisciplinary, drawing on history and the natural sciences. My academic background is in literature and history, but I have also taken courses in natural history, ecology and botany to make sure I understand my subjects before writing about them. In addition to my academic role at Swansea University, I am currently employed part time as a gardener, and I love working outside and experiencing the natural world first hand.
I am non-binary, please use the pronoun "they" to talk about me. For example:
----
Dr Lee Raye is an environmental historian and a fellow of the Linnean Society of London with a strong background in natural history. In 2016 they won the William T. Stearn essay prize from the Society for the History of Natural History for their article ‘The lynx (Lynx lynx) in Early Modern Scotland'. Their work has also appeared in the Herpetological Journal, Historical Biology and Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science.
Somewhere in the middle of my studies I realised that I need something much more than just an intellectual challenge to get me excited about writing. When I first discovered wildlife history it came like a breath of wind through a musty old library. Books overturned, paper flew everywhere, and when it settled, my perspective had changed, and everything was different.
My aim is to write nature-centric accounts. I don’t always succeed, but I dream of telling the story of the history of animals and plants in Britain without centring my story on human history. In my books and articles, I talk about concrete subjects, never just vague "themes". Everything I write is intended to have real implications for how we view the world today. My work is truly interdisciplinary, drawing on history and the natural sciences. My academic background is in literature and history, but I have also taken courses in natural history, ecology and botany to make sure I understand my subjects before writing about them. In addition to my academic role at Swansea University, I am currently employed part time as a gardener, and I love working outside and experiencing the natural world first hand.
I am non-binary, please use the pronoun "they" to talk about me. For example:
----
Dr Lee Raye is an environmental historian and a fellow of the Linnean Society of London with a strong background in natural history. In 2016 they won the William T. Stearn essay prize from the Society for the History of Natural History for their article ‘The lynx (Lynx lynx) in Early Modern Scotland'. Their work has also appeared in the Herpetological Journal, Historical Biology and Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science.
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