Gilbert White's Year: Passages From The Garden Kalendar & The Naturalist's Journal

by Gilbert White

Gilbert White spent most of his life as curate of Selborne and in 1751 began to keep his recorded, detailed observations of wild life and nature. This book is based on a selection of passages from these works. John Commander has chosen passages from "The Garden Kalender" and "The Naturalist's Journal" and arranged them within the framework of the year. The book is illustrated wih watercolours and engravings, including views of Selbourne commissioned by White from Samuel Hieronymus Grimm in 1766 and some reproductions of Thomas Bewick. The book is introduced by Richard Mabey, author of many books including "Food For Free; Gilbert A biography", which won the 1986 Whitbread prize for biography and "The Gardener's Labyrinth".

Paperback

First published February 25, 1981

About the author

Gilbert White was a "parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist. More than any other writer, Gilbert White has shaped the relationship between man and nature. A hundred years before Darwin, White realised the crucial role of worms in the formation of soil and understood the significance of territory and song in birds. His precise, scrupulously honest and unaffectedly witty observations led him to interpret animals' behaviour in a unique manner. He is best known for his Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, and remained unmarried and a curate all his life.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read over the course of 2022 as a daily(ish) dose of nature writing. A nice practice