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Nightingale

Series: Animal
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Nightingale by Bethan Roberts delves into the enchanting world of Britain's famous songbird, exploring its fascinating interplay with nature. The book offers an insightful journey through the bird's life cycle and its remarkable role in folklore, culture, and conservation efforts, inviting readers to marvel at the intricate balance of the natural world.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2999
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by the convergence of science, nature, and human emotion. With a story that intricately weaves natural history and personal narrative, it offers a unique exploration of themes like observation and the complexities of the natural world.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The nightingale holds a unique place in cultural history: the most prized of songbirds, it has inspired more poems than any other creature and is also the most mythologised of birds. Nightingale juxtaposes the bird of poetry, music, myth, and lore with the living bird of wood and scrubland, unpicking the entangled relationship between them.

Covering a vast range of poets, musicians, artists, nature writers, and natural historiansβ€”from Aristotle, Keats, and Vera Lynn to Bob Dylanβ€”Nightingale charts our fascination through history with this nondescript yet melodious little brown bird. It also documents the nightingale's disappearance from British breeding grounds and the implications this has for its conservation.

Series: Animal

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

'Nightingale' by Bethan Roberts is praised for its graceful and visionary exploration of nightingales, highlighting their significance across centuries and cultures. The book combines a deeply researched history of literature and human interaction with nature and is noted for its lyrical and hopeful prose. It examines the bird and its cultural impact, suggesting it would appeal both to poets and birdwatchers alike.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781789144741

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 October 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Reaktion Books

Illustration: 77 color plates, 23 halftones

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 133.0mm

Height: 191.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 224

About the Author

Bethan Roberts is the William Noble Postdoctoral Research Associate in English at the University of Liverpool. She is the author of Charlotte Smith and the Sonnet: Place, Tradition and Form in the Late Eighteenth Century.

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