The Natural History of Selborne by Gilbert White (English) Paperback Book

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The Natural History of Selborne (1789) is written as a series of letters, which describe with wit and precision the flora and fauna White observes in his Hampshire parish. A classic of nature writing, this edition includes contemporary illustrations, a contextualizing introduction, and an appendix of readers' responses over 200 years.

FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

'I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, which would take flies out of a person's hand.'Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne (1789) reveals a world of wonders in nature. Over a period of twenty years White describes in minute detail the behaviour of animals through the changing seasons in the rural Hampshire parish of Selborne. He notes everything from the habits of an eccentric tortoise to themysteries of bird migration and animal reproduction, with the purpose of inspiring others to observe their own surroundings with the same pleasure and attention.Written as a series of letters, White's bookhas all the immediacy of an exchange with friends, yet it is crafted with compelling literary skill. His gossipy correspondence has delighted readers from Charles Darwin to Virginia Woolf, and it has been read as a nostalgic evocation of a pastoral vision, a model for local studies of plants and animals, and a precursor to modern ecology. This new edition includes contemporary illustrations, a contextualizing introduction, and an appendix of literary responses to thebook.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment toscholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Notes

Attractively illustrated, critically up-to-date edition of this classic work of natural history.

Author Biography

Gilbert White was born in 1720 in Selborne in Hampshire and went to Oriel College, Oxford, where he became a Fellow in 1743. He took ordination and held a number of curacies in the vicinity of Selborne before finally becoming permanent curate of his birthplace in 1784, a position he held until his death in 1793. In 1751 he started keeping his 'Garden Kalendar', and later the 'Naturalist's Journal' he kept for 25 years. The Natural History of Selborne isbased on his correspondence with two distinguished naturalists, Thomas Pennant and Daines Barrington.Anne Secord is an Affiliated Research Scholar in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge. The focus of her research and writing is on popular natural history in nineteenth-century Britain, and on horticulture, medicine, and consumption in the eighteenth century. She is completing a book that explores social class, observation, and skill in nineteenth-century natural history for the University of Chicago Press.

Review

`'I can wholeheartedly recommend this edition ... Beautifully produced ... Secord's introduction - surely one of the chief reasons to purchase this new edition of a book never out of print - provides a nuanced and stimulating account of the origins, character, and legacies of Selborne.''Diarmid A. Finnegan, Journal of Historical Geography`'This Oxford edition offers new insights into a work that has been hugely popular. ''Land and Business

Long Description

'I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, which would take flies out of a person's hand.'Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne (1789) reveals a world of wonders in nature. Over a period of twenty years White describes in minute detail the behaviour of animals through the changing seasons in the rural Hampshire parish of Selborne. He notes everything from the habits of an eccentric tortoise to themysteries of bird migration and animal reproduction, with the purpose of inspiring others to observe their own surroundings with the same pleasure and attention.Written as a series of letters, White's bookhas all the immediacy of an exchange with friends, yet it is crafted with compelling literary skill. His gossipy correspondence has delighted readers from Charles Darwin to Virginia Woolf, and it has been read as a nostalgic evocation of a pastoral vision, a model for local studies of plants and animals, and a precursor to modern ecology. This new edition includes contemporary illustrations, a contextualizing introduction, and an appendix of literary responses to thebook.ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment toscholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Review Text

''I can wholeheartedly recommend this edition ... Beautifully produced ... Secord's introduction - surely one of the chief reasons to purchase this new edition of a book never out of print - provides a nuanced and stimulating account of the origins, character, and legacies of Selborne.' 'Diarmid A. Finnegan, Journal of Historical Geography''This Oxford edition offers new insights into a work that has been hugely popular. ' 'Land and Business

Review Quote

"I can wholeheartedly recommend this edition ... Beautifully produced ... Secord's introduction - surely one of the chief reasons to purchase this new edition of a book never out of print - provides a nuanced and stimulating account of the origins, character, and legacies of Selborne." -- Diarmid A. Finnegan, Journal of Historical Geography "This Oxford edition offers new insights into a work that has been hugely popular." -- Land and Business "This book set the standard for much of the nature writing that has followed in its wake. White is a great example of an amateur naturalist - the grandfather of citizen science and public data capture. The work is a powerful reminder of the richness of the natural world in White's time and a marker of how much we've lost since then." - Arts & Humanities Research Council

Feature

An attractively illustrated, critically up-to-date edition of Gilbert White's classic work of natural historyCombines minute observation of the behaviour of animals and birds with anecdote and local description, in a charmingly intimate styleIncludes 17 contemporary illustrations by Thomas Pennant, one of White's chief correspondentsIncludes a contextualizing introduction and an appendix of responses to the book from scientists, naturalists, poets, novelists, and writers over two centuriesUseful explanatory notes add historical context, and a select bibliography, chronology of White, biographical index and general index make this the most comprehensive edition available

Details ISBN0198737750 Author Anne Secord Pages 352 Year 2016 ISBN-10 0198737750 ISBN-13 9780198737759 Format Paperback Place of Publication Oxford Country of Publication United Kingdom Edited by Anne Secord DEWEY 508.42274 Short Title NATURAL HIST OF SELBORNE Language English Media Book UK Release Date 2016-02-11 NZ Release Date 2016-02-11 Publisher Oxford University Press Series Oxford World's Classics Publication Date 2016-02-11 Imprint Oxford University Press Alternative 9780192847447 Illustrations 17 black and white Audience General AU Release Date 2016-02-14 We've got this

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