Book description
Described as 'Britain's greatest living nature writer', Richard Mabey
has revealed his passion for the natural world in eloquent stories for
BBC Wildlife Magazine. This definitive collection brings
together his favourite pieces and presents a fascinating and inspiring
view of the changing natural landscape in which we live.
With marvellously observed detail, Mabey recalls following a barn
owl he'd encountered while walking near his home in Norfolk, and talks
of studying lichens through the lens of a Victorian microscope.
Alongside tales of ants and hornets, swifts and pink-footed geese, we
read about the hustle and bustle of his village in the heat of the
summer, and his musings on the significance of Constable's The
Cornfield. Mabey's fascination lies in the way that we live and
work within the nature that surrounds us.
Peppered throughout with references to the heritage of nature
writing, and great writers from Richard Jefferies and John Clare to
Roger Deakin and Robert MacFarlane, A Brush With Nature is part
memoir, part nature journal, part social history, giving us a unique
insight into a nature lover's reflections over a quarter of a century.
Richard Mabey is a prize-winning writer and botanist, described by
The Times as 'Britain's greatest living nature writer'.
Brought up in the Chilterns, he now lives in Norfolk where he and his
partner, Polly, have created a complex garden with elements ranging
from a walled vegetable plot to a Mediterranean garrigue and a
self-sown oakwood.
Highly praised for his poetic style and challenging ideas, he writes
a monthly column for BBC Wildlife magazine and is the author of
several books on nature and food, including the bestselling Food
for Free, a book which has never been out of print, and the
hugely successful Flora Britannica: The Definitive New Guide to
Britain's Wild Flowers.
