The Friendship of Nature: A New England Chronicle of Birds and Flowers

by Mabel Osgood Wright, Daniel J. Philippon (Editor)

Author of twenty-five works of fiction and nonfiction, founder of the Connecticut Audubon Society, for twelve years associate editor of Bird-Lore (now Audubon) magazine, an accomplished landscape photographer, and the organizing force behind one of the first privately owned bird sanctuaries in the United States, Mabel Osgood Wright is not only a neglected writer and illustrator, she is also a lost hero of the American conservation movement, one whose work became a model for local wildlife and habitat preservation efforts throughout the country. Published in 1894, the same year as John Muir's The Mountains of California, Wright's The Friendship of Nature helped to launch the "back-to-nature" movement that swept America at the turn of the century. Grounded in ornithology and botany, informed by classical mythology and the experience of women, and based on the premise that human beings are intimately connected to the landscapes in which they live and work, this classic of American nature writing challenged readers to appreciate the land on a local, personal, and familiar level -- to rediscover the beauty and complexity of their own backyards. Now back in print, with a new introduction by Daniel J. Philippon, The Friendship of Nature remains an effective argument for the need to preserve wild things and the environment they inhabit. "More than one hundred years after its initial publication, The Friendship of Nature deserves renewed attention as a precursor of the current 'back-to-nature' movement, whose curbside recycling programs, organic farmers' markets, and annual Earth Day celebrations fulfill Wright's definition of 'a stepping forward.' If Americans at the dawn of the twentieth century turned to nature as a refuge from urbanization and industrialization, today more and more people are recognizing that the idea of an independent 'nature' -- one unrelated to human activity -- can no longer be supported, that 'nature' is in fact an integral part of everyday life." -- from the Introduction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1894

About the author

Mabel Osgood Wright (1859 – 1934) was an American author. She was an early leader in the Audubon movement who wrote extensively about nature and birds.

From her beginnings as a writer about children, nature, and outdoor life, Wright's reception from the public was cordial. However, when she began to publish works of fiction, she concealed her identity as their author until they had won recognition independently, taking the pseudonym of "Barbara".