Gilbert White: a biography of the author of The Natural History of Selborne. Richard Mabey. 1986.

In the two hundred years since its first publication, Gilbert White’s Natural History of Selborne has become one of the best known natural history books in the world. But surprisingly little is known about the country curate who wrote this famous book though he was - as Richard Mabey has discovered - an intriguing and complex character.

Both scientist and poet, and acutely aware of the cultural and philosophical issues of the day, White was determined to, whatever the cost, to turn his experiences at Selborne into a new kind of book. He gave up the chance of a prosperous living and marriage and devoted eighteen years to producing a work of discovery and originality that was to mark a turning point in our view off nature.White’s detailed observations and intense delight in the world, from the mysteries of swallow migration to the growth of melons, were cornerstones in the growth of ecology and in the development of a deep affection for nature that is at the heart of our cultural life.