This re-issue of BB's classic memoir will be enjoyed by all who appreciate fine country writing, and who believe passionately in the resilience of Mother Nature, despite the follies of mankind.



Denys Watkins-Pitchford (better known as BB) wrote these wonderful essays on the English countryside in the 1930s - a time of peace and renewal between two world wars. The book was finally published in 1941 when, as BB puts it, England was 'in the darkest hour of our history.'



BB captures here in words and sensitive wood engravings the wonders of English wildlife and countryside.



Includes essays on:





ravens and rookeries
the stone curlew
the purple emperor butterfly
a woodcutter's house
an encounter with a wildfowler one frosty dawn
a night fishing on the Solway
the strange behaviour of song thrushes
the rescue of a black labrador
a favourite copse
the accidental death of a groom
village characters
hedgerows - and many more topics

Illustrated by: Denys Watkins-Pitchford