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Seasons
Spring: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons
It is a time of awakening. In our fields, hedgerows and woodlands, our beaches, cities and parks, an almost imperceptible shift soon becomes a riot of sound and winter ends, and life surges forth once more. Whether in town or country, we all share in this natural rhythm, in the joy and anticipation of the changing year.
In prose and poetry both old and new, Spring mirrors the unfolding of the season, inviting us to see what’s around us with new eyes. Featuring original writing by Rob Cowen, Miriam Darlington and Stephen Moss, classic extracts from the work of George Orwell, Clare Leighton and H. E. Bates, and fresh new voices from across the UK, this is an original and inspiring collection of nature writing that brings the British springtime to life in all its vivid glory.
“A book to live with and to love… features a wonderfully various array of poetry and prose, from Chaucer to the present day, that allows us to see the arrival and the passing of our most fecund season (and those who have written about it) in fresh and stimulating ways.” –- Matthew Adams, Independent
‘[A] tremendous, soul-lifting collection … a profound evocation of what rejuvenation means to the winter-stunned psyche’—Lucy Jones, BBC Wildlife Magazine
“The cover of this book is absolutely striking… I couldn't wait to look inside. It is so full of life… Full of perfectly mixed passages of the wonders of nature, this is a book I will turn to each year as the vivacious season of spring approaches.” –- The Book Magnet
“A very lovely object … I was captivated by the writing. These were the words of people who wanted to share their experiences of the world around them; some of them wrote to inform, some of them wrote to celebrate, and of course the very best of them did both … There is nothing in it that doesn’t deserve its place, and I can think of nothing that should be there but isn’t. It would make a lovely Easter gift. It’s a book that I know I will enjoy revisiting.” –- Beyondedenrock.com
“Everything about this book, from Lynn Hatzius’ gorgeous cover, to the rich cream of the pages, to the meticulously selected content is an invitation … to taste the Spring in the air, to hear the grasses grow, to lose yourself in a vast sky or to watch the farmers at work. The book, like a sparkling Spring stream swollen with meltwater, is just begging for you to dip in.” – Richard Littledale, blogger
“An anthology edited by Melissa Harrison was never going to stick to [the] beaten track … important is her imaginative commissioning of new works and choice of previously published pieces. There are several refreshing novelties in this book … Serves to remind us that the future of nature writing – if we must use the label – is under no threat.” – Laurence Rose, thelongspring.com
Praise for Summer
"A remarkable anthology of abundance capturing both the physical wonders and the psychological enchantments of this glorious season, this book conjures summer in the senses as potently as a field of freshly cut hay. Featuring some of the greatest writers on landscape as well as fantastic new voices, it is a collection that will trigger the memory, evoke new places and people, and help you see afresh the preciousness and precariousness of our natural world." -- Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground
“A delightful miscellany of reflections on that loveliest of seasons, summer – packed with insights and encounters with nature from a wide range of authors from Gilbert White and George Eliot to a bevy of young contemporary naturalists” — Stephen Moss, author of Wild Hares and Hummingbirds and Wild Bringing Back Britain’s Wildlife
"This book will convince you that summertime is where we truly belong - not through overindulgence in nostalgia, but through realisation of our core values and roots. It will take you home" -- Matthew Oates, author of In Pursuit of A Fifty-year Affair
“Lavishly capturing the nature of the season in all its slow, sensual splendour, Summer is a potent reminder of the riches that surround us, and a poignant evocation of all that we cannot bear to lose” – Sharon Blackie, author of If Women Rose Rooted and editor of Earthlines
“[A] delicious antidote … a summer collection to wake up a tired imagination, like sunshine warming a plant to coax it into opening.” – Richard Littledale, blogger
“I’ve been dipping in and out of this beautiful anthology for some time but didn’t want to post a review until I had read every entry. There are poems, extracts and essays spanning several centuries, so that there is something for every reader in this celebration of the season ... There’s a beauty to this book – from the glorious cover to the simple illustrations like that of the swallow that adorn the inside pages. The writings are all evocative, enlightening, entertaining or thought provoking ... I shall treasure it and return to it again and again ... A perfect gift for any lover of ...
In prose and poetry both old and new, Spring mirrors the unfolding of the season, inviting us to see what’s around us with new eyes. Featuring original writing by Rob Cowen, Miriam Darlington and Stephen Moss, classic extracts from the work of George Orwell, Clare Leighton and H. E. Bates, and fresh new voices from across the UK, this is an original and inspiring collection of nature writing that brings the British springtime to life in all its vivid glory.
“A book to live with and to love… features a wonderfully various array of poetry and prose, from Chaucer to the present day, that allows us to see the arrival and the passing of our most fecund season (and those who have written about it) in fresh and stimulating ways.” –- Matthew Adams, Independent
‘[A] tremendous, soul-lifting collection … a profound evocation of what rejuvenation means to the winter-stunned psyche’—Lucy Jones, BBC Wildlife Magazine
“The cover of this book is absolutely striking… I couldn't wait to look inside. It is so full of life… Full of perfectly mixed passages of the wonders of nature, this is a book I will turn to each year as the vivacious season of spring approaches.” –- The Book Magnet
“A very lovely object … I was captivated by the writing. These were the words of people who wanted to share their experiences of the world around them; some of them wrote to inform, some of them wrote to celebrate, and of course the very best of them did both … There is nothing in it that doesn’t deserve its place, and I can think of nothing that should be there but isn’t. It would make a lovely Easter gift. It’s a book that I know I will enjoy revisiting.” –- Beyondedenrock.com
“Everything about this book, from Lynn Hatzius’ gorgeous cover, to the rich cream of the pages, to the meticulously selected content is an invitation … to taste the Spring in the air, to hear the grasses grow, to lose yourself in a vast sky or to watch the farmers at work. The book, like a sparkling Spring stream swollen with meltwater, is just begging for you to dip in.” – Richard Littledale, blogger
“An anthology edited by Melissa Harrison was never going to stick to [the] beaten track … important is her imaginative commissioning of new works and choice of previously published pieces. There are several refreshing novelties in this book … Serves to remind us that the future of nature writing – if we must use the label – is under no threat.” – Laurence Rose, thelongspring.com
Praise for Summer
"A remarkable anthology of abundance capturing both the physical wonders and the psychological enchantments of this glorious season, this book conjures summer in the senses as potently as a field of freshly cut hay. Featuring some of the greatest writers on landscape as well as fantastic new voices, it is a collection that will trigger the memory, evoke new places and people, and help you see afresh the preciousness and precariousness of our natural world." -- Rob Cowen, author of Common Ground
“A delightful miscellany of reflections on that loveliest of seasons, summer – packed with insights and encounters with nature from a wide range of authors from Gilbert White and George Eliot to a bevy of young contemporary naturalists” — Stephen Moss, author of Wild Hares and Hummingbirds and Wild Bringing Back Britain’s Wildlife
"This book will convince you that summertime is where we truly belong - not through overindulgence in nostalgia, but through realisation of our core values and roots. It will take you home" -- Matthew Oates, author of In Pursuit of A Fifty-year Affair
“Lavishly capturing the nature of the season in all its slow, sensual splendour, Summer is a potent reminder of the riches that surround us, and a poignant evocation of all that we cannot bear to lose” – Sharon Blackie, author of If Women Rose Rooted and editor of Earthlines
“[A] delicious antidote … a summer collection to wake up a tired imagination, like sunshine warming a plant to coax it into opening.” – Richard Littledale, blogger
“I’ve been dipping in and out of this beautiful anthology for some time but didn’t want to post a review until I had read every entry. There are poems, extracts and essays spanning several centuries, so that there is something for every reader in this celebration of the season ... There’s a beauty to this book – from the glorious cover to the simple illustrations like that of the swallow that adorn the inside pages. The writings are all evocative, enlightening, entertaining or thought provoking ... I shall treasure it and return to it again and again ... A perfect gift for any lover of ...
208 pages, Paperback
Published February 18, 2016
25 people are currently reading
606 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Harrison
14 books243 followersMelissa Harrison is the author of the novels Clay and At Hawthorn Time, which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and longlisted for the Bailey's Women's Prize, and one work of non-fiction, Rain, which was longlisted for the Wainwright Prize. She is a nature writer, critic and columnist for The Times, the Financial Times and the Guardian, among others. Her new novel All Among the Barley is due for publication in August, 2018..
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 28, 2022
A really beautiful collection to dip in and out of!
July 18, 2018
I knew that spring was coming.
It isn't here yet. The weather is still cold grey and damp, but the evenings are getting lighter, I've seen other signs, and this lovely little book has me convinced.
It's a very lovely object: a pretty cover encases a sturdy little paperback, full of words printed on cream paper, and wrapped in a matching dust jacket.
And, as you may have guessed from the title, there will be another three volumes coming to join it over the course of the coming year.
I loved the idea of the book, of the series, as soon as I read about it; and I was pulled in straight away by the warmth and the understanding of editor Melissa Harrison's introduction:
Spring on the Stour by John Park (1880-1962)
"On these temperate island we have been bound to the seasons since time immemorial, dependent on the circling year and its pattern of growth and senescence. That our homes are warm and bright all year round, that we can eat what we want whenever we like are recent developments in evolutionary terms. No surprise, then, that we have not lost, in a few generations, our deep connection to the changing year. Spring's quickening still quickens us, whether villager or urbanite, farmer or commuter. It's in our bones."
I do hope that she is right, and that we aren't all to caught up in the whirl of living that we don't appreciate much of what is happening in the world around us.
I try to notice, but it is so very easy to be distracted ....
I know that she is right when she considers literature.
"And the seasons roll through our literature, too, budding, blossoming, fruiting and dying back. Think of it: the lazy summer days and golden harvests, the misty autumn walks and frozen fields in winter, and all the hopeful romance of spring. Sometimes, as with Chaucer's 'April shoures', the seasons are the way to set a scene; sometimes they are the subject-matter itself - but there's magic in the way a three-hundred year old account of birdsong, say, can collapse time utterly, granting us a moment of real communion with the past."
Landscape With Magnolia by Stanley Spencer (1891 - 1959)
The wonderful array of pieces that follow make wonderful sense of those words.
Most are prose, but there is a dusting of poems.
They cover the full spectrum of nature writing and they cross so many centuries. There are words drawn from literary classics, childhood classics, and classics of nature writing.
I had forgotten how beautifully Charlotte Bronte wrote of the coming of spring in 'Jane Eyre'. I had forgotten how lovely it was wen something in the air drew Mole away from his spring cleaning at the very beginning of 'Wind in the Willows'.
I hadn't realised that Clare Leighton's words were as lovely as her art. I hadn't known that Edward Thomas had stood at Lands End, and written so well about the Cornish climate.
I could mention so many names that you would recognise; some that I might have guessed would be there but many that I had forgotten or would never have expected to be there.
Thomas Hardy, George Orwell, Francis Klivert, H E Bates, Dylan Thomas, Gilbert White, William Shakespeare ....
Mid Spring by John William Inchbold (1830 - 1888)
But that is barely half the book; the writing of the past is balanced by contemporary nature writing.
I recognised few of the names, but I was captivated by the writing. These were the words of people who wanted to share their experiences of the world around them; some of them wrote to inform, some of them wrote to celebrate, and of course the very best of them did both.
They covered the length and breadth of these islands. After just a few pieces I has been up to the Highlands of Scotland and back home to Cornwall.
I saw so much life in and around a Welsh river; I saw hedgehogs emerge in a country garden at night; I visited a nature reserve in Cambridgeshire, and an RSPB reserve in Cumbria.
It was such a joy to be able to travel the country in this way.
When I looked through the book, wondering which pieces to highlight, I often found it difficult to tell which writing was from the present and which was from the past; such was the quality of the writing and the timelessness of the subject matter.
Spring in the Garden by Harold Harvey (1874 - 1941)
Because there are so many pieces of prose this book takes a good bit of reading. It's a book to pick up, to read a piece or two or tree, and then put down again; and then pick up again.
If I had a small niggle, I would have liked a little more poetry and more illustrations that the simple black and white drawing that fill odd spaces.
But the book is lovely as it is. There is nothing in it that doesn't deserve its place, and I can think of nothing that should be there but isn't.
It would make a lovely Easter gift.
It's a book that I know I will enjoy revisiting.
And I don't want to wish the year away, but I am very curious to see what the next three seasons will bring ....
It isn't here yet. The weather is still cold grey and damp, but the evenings are getting lighter, I've seen other signs, and this lovely little book has me convinced.
It's a very lovely object: a pretty cover encases a sturdy little paperback, full of words printed on cream paper, and wrapped in a matching dust jacket.
And, as you may have guessed from the title, there will be another three volumes coming to join it over the course of the coming year.
I loved the idea of the book, of the series, as soon as I read about it; and I was pulled in straight away by the warmth and the understanding of editor Melissa Harrison's introduction:
Spring on the Stour by John Park (1880-1962)
"On these temperate island we have been bound to the seasons since time immemorial, dependent on the circling year and its pattern of growth and senescence. That our homes are warm and bright all year round, that we can eat what we want whenever we like are recent developments in evolutionary terms. No surprise, then, that we have not lost, in a few generations, our deep connection to the changing year. Spring's quickening still quickens us, whether villager or urbanite, farmer or commuter. It's in our bones."
I do hope that she is right, and that we aren't all to caught up in the whirl of living that we don't appreciate much of what is happening in the world around us.
I try to notice, but it is so very easy to be distracted ....
I know that she is right when she considers literature.
"And the seasons roll through our literature, too, budding, blossoming, fruiting and dying back. Think of it: the lazy summer days and golden harvests, the misty autumn walks and frozen fields in winter, and all the hopeful romance of spring. Sometimes, as with Chaucer's 'April shoures', the seasons are the way to set a scene; sometimes they are the subject-matter itself - but there's magic in the way a three-hundred year old account of birdsong, say, can collapse time utterly, granting us a moment of real communion with the past."
Landscape With Magnolia by Stanley Spencer (1891 - 1959)
The wonderful array of pieces that follow make wonderful sense of those words.
Most are prose, but there is a dusting of poems.
They cover the full spectrum of nature writing and they cross so many centuries. There are words drawn from literary classics, childhood classics, and classics of nature writing.
I had forgotten how beautifully Charlotte Bronte wrote of the coming of spring in 'Jane Eyre'. I had forgotten how lovely it was wen something in the air drew Mole away from his spring cleaning at the very beginning of 'Wind in the Willows'.
I hadn't realised that Clare Leighton's words were as lovely as her art. I hadn't known that Edward Thomas had stood at Lands End, and written so well about the Cornish climate.
I could mention so many names that you would recognise; some that I might have guessed would be there but many that I had forgotten or would never have expected to be there.
Thomas Hardy, George Orwell, Francis Klivert, H E Bates, Dylan Thomas, Gilbert White, William Shakespeare ....
Mid Spring by John William Inchbold (1830 - 1888)
But that is barely half the book; the writing of the past is balanced by contemporary nature writing.
I recognised few of the names, but I was captivated by the writing. These were the words of people who wanted to share their experiences of the world around them; some of them wrote to inform, some of them wrote to celebrate, and of course the very best of them did both.
They covered the length and breadth of these islands. After just a few pieces I has been up to the Highlands of Scotland and back home to Cornwall.
I saw so much life in and around a Welsh river; I saw hedgehogs emerge in a country garden at night; I visited a nature reserve in Cambridgeshire, and an RSPB reserve in Cumbria.
It was such a joy to be able to travel the country in this way.
When I looked through the book, wondering which pieces to highlight, I often found it difficult to tell which writing was from the present and which was from the past; such was the quality of the writing and the timelessness of the subject matter.
Spring in the Garden by Harold Harvey (1874 - 1941)
Because there are so many pieces of prose this book takes a good bit of reading. It's a book to pick up, to read a piece or two or tree, and then put down again; and then pick up again.
If I had a small niggle, I would have liked a little more poetry and more illustrations that the simple black and white drawing that fill odd spaces.
But the book is lovely as it is. There is nothing in it that doesn't deserve its place, and I can think of nothing that should be there but isn't.
It would make a lovely Easter gift.
It's a book that I know I will enjoy revisiting.
And I don't want to wish the year away, but I am very curious to see what the next three seasons will bring ....
March 6, 2017
Although this was the first of the Wildlife Trusts anthologies published in 2016, I got a late start last year so am reading this as the final of four. In common with the other volumes, it’s a terrific mix of contemporary and historical writing, big names and newcomers, observation and reflection. Compared with the other books, it seems to have more about WT sites in particular, with a few pieces from current volunteers or former employees. I also noticed that there’s a bit more of a focus on birds – with essays on the chiffchaff, the birds encountered on the Cley Marshes, cuckoo festivals, young dippers, and a tawny owl chick.
That said, there’s still plenty of variety here, with everything from spring flora* to adders fueling the generally two- to three-page essays. I especially liked Kate Long’s piece on filming hedgehogs at night and Vijay Medtia’s on how people of color living in cities have little access to nature; he recalls spotting a magpie with a twig in its beak at a train station and having to ask someone what it was called. Of the previously published authors, I enjoyed hearing more from Rob Cowen and Miriam Darlington and laughed at Will Cohu’s ice cream and underwear metaphors applied to varieties of cherry trees.
You can’t beat George Orwell on toad sex, and it’s fun to encounter excerpts from classic novels in the context of a nature book: The Wind in the Willows, Lorna Doone, and Jane Eyre (which, shamefully, I didn’t recognize until Lowood was mentioned in the last paragraph). I think my favorite piece of all, though, was Jo Sinclair’s about watching spring’s arrival after a major operation and noting nature’s inscrutable jumble of beauty and brutality.
And my favorite passage:
This passage from Reverend Francis Kilvert’s diary (April 14, 1871) makes me look forward to our trip to nearby Hay-on-Wye next month: “The village is in a blaze of fruit blossom. Clyro is at its loveliest. What more can be said?” Simply that these anthologies are an essential companion to the seasons.
*Like my husband’s piece, positioned right before the R.D. Blackmore extract.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
That said, there’s still plenty of variety here, with everything from spring flora* to adders fueling the generally two- to three-page essays. I especially liked Kate Long’s piece on filming hedgehogs at night and Vijay Medtia’s on how people of color living in cities have little access to nature; he recalls spotting a magpie with a twig in its beak at a train station and having to ask someone what it was called. Of the previously published authors, I enjoyed hearing more from Rob Cowen and Miriam Darlington and laughed at Will Cohu’s ice cream and underwear metaphors applied to varieties of cherry trees.
You can’t beat George Orwell on toad sex, and it’s fun to encounter excerpts from classic novels in the context of a nature book: The Wind in the Willows, Lorna Doone, and Jane Eyre (which, shamefully, I didn’t recognize until Lowood was mentioned in the last paragraph). I think my favorite piece of all, though, was Jo Sinclair’s about watching spring’s arrival after a major operation and noting nature’s inscrutable jumble of beauty and brutality.
And my favorite passage:
Year after year all this loveliness for eye and ear recurs: in early days, in youth, it was anticipated with confidence; in later years, as the season approaches, experience and age qualify the confidence with apprehension lest clouds of war or civil strife, or some emergency of work, or declining health, or some other form of human ill may destroy the pleasure or even the sight of it: and when once again it has been enjoyed we have a sense of gratitude greater than in the days of confident and thoughtless youth. Perhaps the memory of those days, having become part of our being, helps us in later life to enjoy each passing season.
(from Sir Edward Grey’s The Charm of Birds, 1927)
This passage from Reverend Francis Kilvert’s diary (April 14, 1871) makes me look forward to our trip to nearby Hay-on-Wye next month: “The village is in a blaze of fruit blossom. Clyro is at its loveliest. What more can be said?” Simply that these anthologies are an essential companion to the seasons.
*Like my husband’s piece, positioned right before the R.D. Blackmore extract.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
March 21, 2017
Spring is that time of year where we shrug off the dark nights and sullen weather and celebrate the light and the warmth of the sun as it floods through the gothic formwork of trees. Plants are waking up too, buds swell and then burst with fresh green leaves, the wanderers return from afar and there is the frantic race to find a mate. Those that have spent the winter gestating, are born, bring new life into the world. It is the season where change is most noticeable and for a lot of people most welcomed.
Harrison has once again drawn together some of the finest new writing from established authors and exciting new ones and scoured the classic texts to gather them in this book. She has selected a good mix of prose and poetry too, each with the essence of the season distilled within. Most exciting are the new authors that are here for the first time in print, people like Jo Sinclair, Alice Hunter, Vijay Medtia, Elliot Dowding and Chris Foster. All have the potential to add to the natural history lexicography.
It is full of the wonders of nature, acute observation of the landscape around and writers celebrating the joy of the season. It is a lovely book too, the stunning foil blocked cover by Lynn Hatzius captures the energy and zest of spring perfectly. For those of you that love your nature writing, this collection is a perfect distillation of the moment.
Harrison has once again drawn together some of the finest new writing from established authors and exciting new ones and scoured the classic texts to gather them in this book. She has selected a good mix of prose and poetry too, each with the essence of the season distilled within. Most exciting are the new authors that are here for the first time in print, people like Jo Sinclair, Alice Hunter, Vijay Medtia, Elliot Dowding and Chris Foster. All have the potential to add to the natural history lexicography.
It is full of the wonders of nature, acute observation of the landscape around and writers celebrating the joy of the season. It is a lovely book too, the stunning foil blocked cover by Lynn Hatzius captures the energy and zest of spring perfectly. For those of you that love your nature writing, this collection is a perfect distillation of the moment.
May 3, 2017
As well as extracts from longer works, and the odd poem, there are quite a few original essays from different contributors strewn throughout Spring: An Anthology for the Changing Seasons. It is rather varied in terms of its range, and there were many pieces within, both old and new, which I very much enjoyed. Spring has been nicely curated, and feels like a fitting beginning to Harrison's quartet which revolves around the seasons. Spring is undoubtedly a charming and vibrant celebration of spring.
March 27, 2017
A rather self indulgent read as I love this time of the year. This anthology has helped me to love it a little bit more. I'm looking out for additional signs of Spring, courtesy of this. I'm paying more attention to the tree buds, looking out for Spring visitors to the garden – the birds returning from wintering abroad. Thomas Furley Forster's notes (1827) of when to expect them by specific dates are fascinating – and fun. Gilbert White's recordings of his Spring moments, including the date his tortoise first emerged from hibernation (21 April) made interesting, gentle reading. Extracts from Dorothy Wordsworth's diary, including what could have been a crib sheet for her brother's Daffodils poem, interested me too. Local and international customs around the cuckoo: I was particularly intrigued by a village festival in Portugal which featured a cart carrying 2 old ladies and a caged cuckoo, through the village streets.
Contributions from the famous and the not so famous, old and new are to be found in this attractively produced book. It is informative, delightful and the first in a series from the Wildlife Trusts and an insight into some of the work these Trusts are doing and why.
Contributions from the famous and the not so famous, old and new are to be found in this attractively produced book. It is informative, delightful and the first in a series from the Wildlife Trusts and an insight into some of the work these Trusts are doing and why.
September 6, 2016
A collection of writings about spring – what could be nicer?
This book is one of four on the seasons. Are there really four seasons, I wonder? I’m not totally sure that summer exists – doesn’t spring (March-June) just fade into autumn (July- December) and then there is a bit of winter (January and February), with some leeway at each transition and false starts, false finishes and just odd weather? But I do believe in spring – and spring is wonderful.
In this book, published enterprisingly by The Wildlife Trusts, there is, rather cleverly I thought, a mixture of writings from the old (or mostly dead) and famous, and the very much alive. This means that there are some old favourites, Thomas Hardy, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Gilbert White, Robert Browning, Jane Austen and many others but not necessarily with the extracts that you might expect or remember, but also writings from those you have never heard of (though to be honest – I do know some of them!).
I liked this approach, and found myself enjoying the modern, unread, new pieces just as much as (actually, often more than!) the older pieces by the famous. I’m not sure why, but it might partly be because the modern writings were more specific, better informed and more often about species than about ‘spring’ itself. There is no reason why your favourites should be anything like mine, but for what it’s worth, my favourite ‘new’ was by Nicola Chester and my favourite ‘old’ was probably that from Mansfield Park (Jane Austen) which I have to confess I have never read, so it was new to me.
I’d have liked a bit more poetry.
I’ll look forward to the next three volumes, even though summer doesn’t really exist (I wonder whether June, July and August will convince me that I am wrong this year), but none can match spring for excitement and beauty, but we’ll see if they can for writing.
This review first appeared on my blog on 16 May 2016 http://markavery.info/2016/05/15/sund...
This book is one of four on the seasons. Are there really four seasons, I wonder? I’m not totally sure that summer exists – doesn’t spring (March-June) just fade into autumn (July- December) and then there is a bit of winter (January and February), with some leeway at each transition and false starts, false finishes and just odd weather? But I do believe in spring – and spring is wonderful.
In this book, published enterprisingly by The Wildlife Trusts, there is, rather cleverly I thought, a mixture of writings from the old (or mostly dead) and famous, and the very much alive. This means that there are some old favourites, Thomas Hardy, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Gilbert White, Robert Browning, Jane Austen and many others but not necessarily with the extracts that you might expect or remember, but also writings from those you have never heard of (though to be honest – I do know some of them!).
I liked this approach, and found myself enjoying the modern, unread, new pieces just as much as (actually, often more than!) the older pieces by the famous. I’m not sure why, but it might partly be because the modern writings were more specific, better informed and more often about species than about ‘spring’ itself. There is no reason why your favourites should be anything like mine, but for what it’s worth, my favourite ‘new’ was by Nicola Chester and my favourite ‘old’ was probably that from Mansfield Park (Jane Austen) which I have to confess I have never read, so it was new to me.
I’d have liked a bit more poetry.
I’ll look forward to the next three volumes, even though summer doesn’t really exist (I wonder whether June, July and August will convince me that I am wrong this year), but none can match spring for excitement and beauty, but we’ll see if they can for writing.
This review first appeared on my blog on 16 May 2016 http://markavery.info/2016/05/15/sund...
May 5, 2024
I reckon this will be my favourite in this collection of books, Spring is that time of year where everything seems to be happening and you don’t need to be an expert to appreciate the show that nature is putting on. A lot of people have that one event that they look out for every year that lets them know that spring has arrived, for me it is that one single snowdrop I have in my front garden, it has been there for years and has even survived the building of a new path and the laying of a new lawn, and a few days before the official date that spring kicks off, it flowers and that is when I seem to wake up from the winter slumber and start noticing other things waking up.
One of my favourite things about this book was a piece near the start by George Orwell, he talks about toads and that nobody seems to consider them being there at the start so he has written this piece to show his appreciation, the book contains lots of work by modern writers and many times the toad gets mentioned, I reckon Orwell would have loved the toad is finally earning some respect.
The book contains essays, memories, poems, prose and diary entries, a nice mixture of subjects that has been expertly put together by Harrison so that you get a sense of the season passing. Stand out pieces for me were Robbie Cowen on a walk with his Dad, nervous about some news he had to share…it was amazing how I found myself on the edge of my seat to see how his Dad would react. I really enjoyed Nicola Chester’s bit about owls and the suddenness of an attack, really well written. I adored Gilbert White’s diary because of him gaining a tortoise and the way this creature takes over his life, he’ll write about a bird returning and in the next breath the tortoise ate some cucumber.
The last essay finishes by saying that they don’t think an artist could capture the evening magic of colours and birdsong but I think this book proves that writerly artists can do that again and again. A highly recommended book that can be inspirational…I took a break reading to see what the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust had organised and went on a lovely local guided walk…ya don’t get that from a Stephen King book!
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2024...
One of my favourite things about this book was a piece near the start by George Orwell, he talks about toads and that nobody seems to consider them being there at the start so he has written this piece to show his appreciation, the book contains lots of work by modern writers and many times the toad gets mentioned, I reckon Orwell would have loved the toad is finally earning some respect.
The book contains essays, memories, poems, prose and diary entries, a nice mixture of subjects that has been expertly put together by Harrison so that you get a sense of the season passing. Stand out pieces for me were Robbie Cowen on a walk with his Dad, nervous about some news he had to share…it was amazing how I found myself on the edge of my seat to see how his Dad would react. I really enjoyed Nicola Chester’s bit about owls and the suddenness of an attack, really well written. I adored Gilbert White’s diary because of him gaining a tortoise and the way this creature takes over his life, he’ll write about a bird returning and in the next breath the tortoise ate some cucumber.
The last essay finishes by saying that they don’t think an artist could capture the evening magic of colours and birdsong but I think this book proves that writerly artists can do that again and again. A highly recommended book that can be inspirational…I took a break reading to see what the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust had organised and went on a lovely local guided walk…ya don’t get that from a Stephen King book!
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2024...
September 1, 2022
Quotes:
The Trees
The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.
Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too.
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written don in rings of grain.
Yet still the infesting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.
~Philip Larkin, 1967
—————————
…
“The point is that the pleasures of spring are available to everybody, and cost nothing. Even in the most sordid street the coming of spring will register itself by some sign or other, if it is only a brighter blue between the chimney pots or the vivid green of an elder sprouting on a blizzard site. Indeed it is remarkable how Nature goes on existing unofficially, as it were, in the very heart of London.”
“Is it wicked to take a pleasure in spring and other seasonal changes? To put it more precisely, is it politically reprehensible, while we are all groaning, or at any rate ought to be groaning, under the shackles of the capitalist system, to point out that life is frequently more worth living because of a blackbird’s song, a yellow elm tree in October, or some other natural phenomenon which does not cost money and does not have what the editors of left-wing newspapers call a class angle?”
~ George Orwell, ‘Some thoughts on the common toad’, 1946
—————————
“The trees on either side of the old railway are alive with song and made even more beautiful by the way their highest, thinnest twigs amass in vein-like clusters, lit by an egg-yolk sun. They look like bees’ wings, poised and primed for flight, trembling in the soft breeze. Everything is brimming with possibility. Everything is pointing forward to what is to come. And isn’t that the way with spring? It feels sweeter even than the highest summer day because it arrives while winter still holds the earth.”
~ Rob Cowen, 2016
The Trees
The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.
Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too.
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written don in rings of grain.
Yet still the infesting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.
~Philip Larkin, 1967
—————————
…
“The point is that the pleasures of spring are available to everybody, and cost nothing. Even in the most sordid street the coming of spring will register itself by some sign or other, if it is only a brighter blue between the chimney pots or the vivid green of an elder sprouting on a blizzard site. Indeed it is remarkable how Nature goes on existing unofficially, as it were, in the very heart of London.”
“Is it wicked to take a pleasure in spring and other seasonal changes? To put it more precisely, is it politically reprehensible, while we are all groaning, or at any rate ought to be groaning, under the shackles of the capitalist system, to point out that life is frequently more worth living because of a blackbird’s song, a yellow elm tree in October, or some other natural phenomenon which does not cost money and does not have what the editors of left-wing newspapers call a class angle?”
~ George Orwell, ‘Some thoughts on the common toad’, 1946
—————————
“The trees on either side of the old railway are alive with song and made even more beautiful by the way their highest, thinnest twigs amass in vein-like clusters, lit by an egg-yolk sun. They look like bees’ wings, poised and primed for flight, trembling in the soft breeze. Everything is brimming with possibility. Everything is pointing forward to what is to come. And isn’t that the way with spring? It feels sweeter even than the highest summer day because it arrives while winter still holds the earth.”
~ Rob Cowen, 2016
April 17, 2022
I played a guessing game as I read this. Could I recognize the author? How many sentences would it take before I could tell if it were a modern or old piece of writing? And then, what made it recognizably modern? It's a good question - I think, anyway - what's different about how we write about nature now, as opposed to say, 100 years ago?
Of course I liked the old stuff best. And having never read any of Dorothy Wordsworth's writing before, I was impressed and interested to read more.
The one who impressed me most was Harrison herself. Somehow she has the qualities of both old and new.
And I'm looking forward to Summer.
Of course I liked the old stuff best. And having never read any of Dorothy Wordsworth's writing before, I was impressed and interested to read more.
The one who impressed me most was Harrison herself. Somehow she has the qualities of both old and new.
And I'm looking forward to Summer.
March 26, 2025
A love collection of essays, verse and excerpts from literature
July 2, 2016
The cover of this book is absolutely striking in vibrant tones of green, perfectly evoking thoughts of spring, and I couldn't wait to look inside. It is so full of life with the tweeting of birds, gambolling of lambs, slithering of snakes and not forgetting the escapades of Timothy the tortoise. As the season unfurls throughout each page it epitomises the season of spring with the joy and hope of new beginnings.
There are excerpts from the classics interspersed with modern writing from naturalists and nature writers. One minute you are reading a passage from Jane Eyre or Under Milk Wood and the next you are reading observations of a season unfolding within one day as the writer travels from North to South of our beautiful country.
On some of the older pieces, I was quite surprised to see the date it was written. They certainly didn’t give their age away which is testament to how wonderfully each passage has been selected for inclusion in this book. As an added bonus, it is published in conjunction with The Wildlife Trusts, raising funds for trusts across the UK.
Full of perfectly mixed passages of the wonders of nature, this is a book I will turn to each year as the vivacious season of spring approaches.
I received this book from the publisher, Elliott & Thompson, in exchange for an honest review.
There are excerpts from the classics interspersed with modern writing from naturalists and nature writers. One minute you are reading a passage from Jane Eyre or Under Milk Wood and the next you are reading observations of a season unfolding within one day as the writer travels from North to South of our beautiful country.
On some of the older pieces, I was quite surprised to see the date it was written. They certainly didn’t give their age away which is testament to how wonderfully each passage has been selected for inclusion in this book. As an added bonus, it is published in conjunction with The Wildlife Trusts, raising funds for trusts across the UK.
Full of perfectly mixed passages of the wonders of nature, this is a book I will turn to each year as the vivacious season of spring approaches.
I received this book from the publisher, Elliott & Thompson, in exchange for an honest review.
April 3, 2018
Between a 2.5 to 3 stars.
It is more and more important today that we engage with nature physically, intellectually and emotionally, rather than allow ourselves to disconnect; that we witness rather than turn away, and celebrate rather than neglect.
Unfortunately this wasn't my favourite of the collection. I really enjoyed Autumn and Winter (probably because they're my favourite seasons, and the things discussed in those collections I could understand and appreciat), but Spring was a little boring. It mainly spoke of birds, instead of the vegetation and new born animals that are so common in spring. I honestly don't care for birds, and the constant entries not only got repetitive but also very boring. I wanted some variety.
However, there were a few inclusions that I really liked. I have now found some new authors to read, which I always appreciate. There was also a lovely collection of classic writers (Shakespeare, Bronte, and so on) which was nice to revisit. I love seeing their take on spring, especially considering they were centuries away (there was from written in Old English, which was very unusual).
I just hate the amount of modern and contemporary authors included, because they always seem to write the same way about the same things. It's always about them wandering, spotting this bird or that, and then them contemplating and reflecting on what this specific bird means to a British spring. It was just a little repetitive after the fourth-or-so time. Nevertheless, the reason behind these anthologies are really wonderful, and I would encourage you to purchase and give them a read (just maybe buy your favourite season).
I would like to end on this lovely quote from Vijay Medtia (2016): Nature can pass people by their whole life; they remain stuck in the concrete jungles and stresses of the modern city. Well, I wasn't going to be one of those people any more.
It is more and more important today that we engage with nature physically, intellectually and emotionally, rather than allow ourselves to disconnect; that we witness rather than turn away, and celebrate rather than neglect.
Unfortunately this wasn't my favourite of the collection. I really enjoyed Autumn and Winter (probably because they're my favourite seasons, and the things discussed in those collections I could understand and appreciat), but Spring was a little boring. It mainly spoke of birds, instead of the vegetation and new born animals that are so common in spring. I honestly don't care for birds, and the constant entries not only got repetitive but also very boring. I wanted some variety.
However, there were a few inclusions that I really liked. I have now found some new authors to read, which I always appreciate. There was also a lovely collection of classic writers (Shakespeare, Bronte, and so on) which was nice to revisit. I love seeing their take on spring, especially considering they were centuries away (there was from written in Old English, which was very unusual).
I just hate the amount of modern and contemporary authors included, because they always seem to write the same way about the same things. It's always about them wandering, spotting this bird or that, and then them contemplating and reflecting on what this specific bird means to a British spring. It was just a little repetitive after the fourth-or-so time. Nevertheless, the reason behind these anthologies are really wonderful, and I would encourage you to purchase and give them a read (just maybe buy your favourite season).
I would like to end on this lovely quote from Vijay Medtia (2016): Nature can pass people by their whole life; they remain stuck in the concrete jungles and stresses of the modern city. Well, I wasn't going to be one of those people any more.
June 1, 2020
The second work featured in this collection is "Some Thoughts on the Common Toad," in which George Orwell argues that marvelling in Spring and nature is a personal and political decision. He argues that capitalism and politicians do not want individuals to be amazed and delighted by anything free, such as the greenery of this time of year, the mating habits of toads (as you will), or even the vivid blue sky. I really enjoyed that passage and felt that it carried with me as I continued to read the other nature pieces. It is important to note that these excerpts all do revolve around nature and the season of Spring. In some ways that caused them to have many overlapping themes of flora and fauna. A few times, I felt that one author had already better described a very similar topic, but overall I feel that this book did an excellent job of conveying the wonder that is Spring. I look forward to reading the other seasonal anthologies edited by Melissa Harrison that support the UK Wildlife Trusts. These books: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter include gorgeous cover work and would make beautiful gifts for any nature lover.
May 1, 2020
I enjoyed this!
Now I always find it hard to rate anthologies and such like. I feel like its inevitable that there will be some work that I enjoy and some that I do not.
I really like the fact this collection contained a few classics writers (Austen, Shakespeare, Bronte, Hardy etc). These ones were actually my favourite of them all, as well as an excerpt from The Wind in the Willows! I found some of the additions from modern contemporary writers a bit... repetitive?
Anyway, I really love the premise of these books- a book for each season. I think its important now more than ever that really connect with natural world and look after the planet we are on.
These books really show peoples love and awe for nature and I loved that!
Will definitely be reading the other ones in the collection!
Now I always find it hard to rate anthologies and such like. I feel like its inevitable that there will be some work that I enjoy and some that I do not.
I really like the fact this collection contained a few classics writers (Austen, Shakespeare, Bronte, Hardy etc). These ones were actually my favourite of them all, as well as an excerpt from The Wind in the Willows! I found some of the additions from modern contemporary writers a bit... repetitive?
Anyway, I really love the premise of these books- a book for each season. I think its important now more than ever that really connect with natural world and look after the planet we are on.
These books really show peoples love and awe for nature and I loved that!
Will definitely be reading the other ones in the collection!
March 31, 2021
This is a fantastic collection, of mainly non fiction stories, poems and observations based around Spring. Wonderfully descriptive and evocative, I have really enjoyed reading this book over the Spring months. A beautiful little book, perfect to dip in and out of when you like. I am now planning on reading Summer and Autumn.
March 27, 2022
I really wanted to love this book, but I didn’t. The cover is lovely, but it had fewer poems excerpts from the classics than expected, and the journal-type entries were very Brit-centric. I was unfamiliar with a lot of the terms for birds, plants, flowers, etc. If I could identify better with the vignettes, I’m sure I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
March 27, 2022
Eine wirklich tolle Sammlung von Frühlingstexten! Mit Melissa Harrisons Herausgeberinnenschaft ist der Fokus auf 'nature writing' selbstverständlich gesetzt, und ich liebs. Neben (zumindest mir) mitunter auch unbekannten Romanauszügen von Klassikern wie Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë und Thomas Hardy beinhaltet der Band auch neue Originaltexte zu allem, was das frühlingshafte Leseherz begehrt.
April 11, 2025
A delightful spring book, especially whilst reading in the garden surrounded by tittering birds and the first flowers bursting through the ground. A next time I will return to particular essays and extracts as reading them all back-to-back did make them blur together somewhat and I didn't appreciate each contribution as much as they deserve.
June 4, 2017
A lovely little book of snippets . Eclectic writing around nature. Read in the Scottish Highlands which undoubtedly enhanced my reading experience.
June 24, 2017
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series of books. I can see myself dipping in and out of them in years to come. A window into British nature and countryside.
June 26, 2017
Some beautiful spring-time vignettes in here - the old and the modern submissions by writers in 2016. Beautiful! You just slip into spring with this.
November 12, 2018
Beautiful crafted prose and poems but ultimately not an enthralling read.
May 17, 2020
Lovely. Like remembering how to breathe, particularly in the middle of lockdown.
June 8, 2024
I liked this one maybe the best of the 4 in the series. Not sure why. Maybe because it is Spring right now.
April 19, 2016
It's unusual for me to read an 'anthology', because the word hints at poetry, and I'm not entirely comfortable with poetry in general.
This is one of four books, the other three yet to be published (you'll never guess what the other three are). I received it in late February and calculated that as there were about 60 articles, if I read about one a day that would take me through into mid-April.
This was an accidentally brilliant tactic of mine. The articles are actually grouped in a broadly chronological way, so the early ones start with mention of melting snows, bare trees and so on, and by the end, we're getting those glorious hints of Summer that often appear in May.
I did resolve that I would Google every bird and plant that gets mentioned, but I soon gave up. I'm not good at identifying birds, trees, flowers, and it amazes me that other people are. I'm sure if I studied the subject for several hours a day I could develop some ability, but I'm not sure I want to. However, my ignorance in this respect is a drawback to my enjoyment of the book.
The book is resolutely British. To be honest, it's almost exclusively English, and, with few exceptions, it's largely southern English.
It covers a range of writers. Some towering figures from the past, such as Shakespeare and Charlotte Bronte, and some less known, niche, historical figures. These are interspersed with contemporary writers, many of whom are working with nature from day-to-day. Broadly speaking, the old alternates with the up-to-date.
There's almost no poetry, except for a Shakespeare sonnet. Maybe one or two more, but it's mainly prose. Mainly non-fiction, but with some fiction dotted here and there. Inevitably any anthology is going to come over to the reader as mixed; there are pieces that do nothing for me and other pieces that make me think differently about some aspect of our world. If I had to single out one piece as my favourite it would be the extract from Dorothy Wordsworth's Grasmere Diaries.
This has a ring of familiarity about it. However, what struck me was her description of what a horrible day it was - windy, grey and raining.
A couple of niggles. When you start reading an item you don't know who it's by - unless you flick to the contents or to the end of the piece. I'm sure this is deliberate but I'd rather know the author as I start to read. And I'd like the author biography to come immediately after their piece - or, at least, be linked in the ebook version. But these are just personal preferences.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a different way of reading for me, and considerably outside my comfort zone. I have already pre-ordered Summer.
This is one of four books, the other three yet to be published (you'll never guess what the other three are). I received it in late February and calculated that as there were about 60 articles, if I read about one a day that would take me through into mid-April.
This was an accidentally brilliant tactic of mine. The articles are actually grouped in a broadly chronological way, so the early ones start with mention of melting snows, bare trees and so on, and by the end, we're getting those glorious hints of Summer that often appear in May.
I did resolve that I would Google every bird and plant that gets mentioned, but I soon gave up. I'm not good at identifying birds, trees, flowers, and it amazes me that other people are. I'm sure if I studied the subject for several hours a day I could develop some ability, but I'm not sure I want to. However, my ignorance in this respect is a drawback to my enjoyment of the book.
The book is resolutely British. To be honest, it's almost exclusively English, and, with few exceptions, it's largely southern English.
It covers a range of writers. Some towering figures from the past, such as Shakespeare and Charlotte Bronte, and some less known, niche, historical figures. These are interspersed with contemporary writers, many of whom are working with nature from day-to-day. Broadly speaking, the old alternates with the up-to-date.
There's almost no poetry, except for a Shakespeare sonnet. Maybe one or two more, but it's mainly prose. Mainly non-fiction, but with some fiction dotted here and there. Inevitably any anthology is going to come over to the reader as mixed; there are pieces that do nothing for me and other pieces that make me think differently about some aspect of our world. If I had to single out one piece as my favourite it would be the extract from Dorothy Wordsworth's Grasmere Diaries.
...we saw a few daffodils close to the water-side. We fancied that the lake had floated the seeds ashore and that the little colony had so sprung up. but as we went along there were more and yet more; and at last, under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore
This has a ring of familiarity about it. However, what struck me was her description of what a horrible day it was - windy, grey and raining.
A couple of niggles. When you start reading an item you don't know who it's by - unless you flick to the contents or to the end of the piece. I'm sure this is deliberate but I'd rather know the author as I start to read. And I'd like the author biography to come immediately after their piece - or, at least, be linked in the ebook version. But these are just personal preferences.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a different way of reading for me, and considerably outside my comfort zone. I have already pre-ordered Summer.
April 26, 2017
The calendar year may start in January in the depths of winter but for most, the year begins with Spring. This is the first in Melissa Harrison's stand-out series of anthologies based around the four seasons. I started reading it with the seasons, having started with Autumn which was outstanding. This one doesn't quite reach that level of perfection.
Like the other volumes in the series, Spring is a miscellany of poetry, prose, and nature writing by both contemporary and past authors. The format remains the same, of keeping you to the end before revealing the author and the date that it is from - often with surprises in store when you realise that something you thought was of the now, is actually from the nineteenth century.
The biggest joy of this book, is the last item in the anthology, featuring as it does a place which exudes the very essence of Spring from somewhere that I know and love very, very well.
Like the other volumes in the series, Spring is a miscellany of poetry, prose, and nature writing by both contemporary and past authors. The format remains the same, of keeping you to the end before revealing the author and the date that it is from - often with surprises in store when you realise that something you thought was of the now, is actually from the nineteenth century.
The biggest joy of this book, is the last item in the anthology, featuring as it does a place which exudes the very essence of Spring from somewhere that I know and love very, very well.
May 5, 2018
Pretty good. Some of the passages were absolutely wonderful - the excerpt from "The Wind in the Willows", for example - and others were well-meaning but tedious garden rhapsodies. Spring is now Summer, and I didn't quite finish the book. Marking it as read, and will return to finish up and then re-read the good bits next Spring.
UPDATE: I finished this book the following Spring, as intended, and my previous impression still holds true.
UPDATE: I finished this book the following Spring, as intended, and my previous impression still holds true.
May 11, 2023
"It was sad to Fanny to lose all the pleasures of spring. She had not known before what pleasures she had to lose in passing March and April in a town. She had not known before, how much the beginnings and progress of vegetation had delighted her." - Mansfield Park
I was already delighted by this book and then there was a Jane Austen quote which made me love it even more.
I was already delighted by this book and then there was a Jane Austen quote which made me love it even more.
April 30, 2020
A seasonal anthology of the coming of spring. It gladdens the heart to hear tales of hope and renewal in these troubled times.
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