The Portrait of a Tortoise: Extracted from the Journals & Letters of Gilbert White

by Gilbert White

book

63 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

Gilbert White was a "parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist. More than any other writer, Gilbert White has shaped the relationship between man and nature. A hundred years before Darwin, White realised the crucial role of worms in the formation of soil and understood the significance of territory and song in birds. His precise, scrupulously honest and unaffectedly witty observations led him to interpret animals' behaviour in a unique manner. He is best known for his Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, and remained unmarried and a curate all his life.

Reviews

[Paul Williford · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this little book as historical background for Verlyn Klinkenborg's excellent "Timothy, or Notes of an Abject Reptile." It's somewhat boring on its own, but with Klinkenborg's book resonating in my mind, I enjoyed having a few more glimpses of my favorite literary-historical tortoise.