THE JOURNALS OF GILBERT WHITE: 1774-1783. VOLUME TWO.

1988 1st edition thus. Pp520. B/w illustrations by Clare Roberts, introduction by Francesca Greenoak. Decorative paper label tipped to grey cloth.

"Gilbert White's The Natural History of Selborne - the first and still the best known natural history book in the world - was a life's work that owes its charm and value to detailed records kept by White for over thirty years. Now these journals are published for the first time in a fully transcribed, unabridged and annotated version". "The journals give a detailed, day-to-day account of the comings and goings of the natural world in and around the Hampshire village where White was born and spent most of his life. Meticulous records of the weather, the arrival and departure of migrant birds, the progress (or failure) of flowers and fruits in White's beloved garden are noted in language remarkable for its precision and its poetry". "Volume II of the journals ...contains the years 1774-1783, a period in which Gilbert White's knowledge about the natural world developed rapidly. There are still notes about the garden, but these take second place as he becomes more involved with the wild plants and animals in the parish of Selborne. His journal entries, which become longer and more interesting than ever, show how far ahead of his time he was. He noticed a regional variance in chaffinch song - a phenomenon only recently verified; he made acute notes and comments on cuckoo behaviour and perceptive guesses at the origins of fairy rings". This is the second volume of a three-volume set. Francesca Greenoak undertook detailed preparation of this series whilst Richard Mabey was the general editor.