ENGLAND

England`s landscape is iconic ` a tapestry of distinctive habitats that together make up a country unique for its rich diversity of flora and fauna. Concentrating on twelve habitats, John Lewis-Stempel leads us from estuary to park, chalk downland to woodland , river to field, village to moor, lake to heath, fen to coastal cliffs, in a book that is unquestionably his magnum opus.Referencing beloved great writers in whose footsteps he treads ` Gilbert White, John Clare, W. H. Hudson, Richard Jefferies, Edward Thomas ` and combining breathtakingly beautiful prose with detailed wildlife observation, botanical fact and ancient folklore, Lewis-Stempel immerses himself in each place, discovering their singular atmosphere, the play of the seasons: the feel of the wind in midwinter: the sounds of daybreak: how twilight settles. Each one ` whether managed park or wild moor, plunging cliff or man-made Broads ` has also shaped human life, forming our idea of ourselves and our sense of what `England` means.England: A Natural History is the definitive volume on the English landscape, and the capstone of John Lewis-Stempel`s nature writing.