THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE

Peter Wickham slips easily into the voice of the eighteenth-century English parson and naturalist Gilbert White as he delivers White's pioneering study of the seasonal patterns of plants and animals. Vigorous and precise, Wickham's performance captures not only the antique grace of White's prose, but also his understanding of the importance of the details he was recording. Written in the form of letters to other naturalists, these brief chapters evoke a time when nature shaped the cycles of everyday life. They are ideal companions for gardening and chores, and, equally, for times of unease and stress. Written at the same time as the American Constitution, they are as remote from politics, strife, and pollution as this century is from that untroubled country garden in England. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2024]