Abstract
NOTHING nearly as good as Mr. Holt-White's book has ever yet appeared about Gilbert White; it supersedes Bell's two volumes, to which we have so far had to go for the real characteristics of the great naturalist, and it is hardly possible that it will ever itself be superseded. In its skilful treatment of materials it is amply worthy of its dedication to a great scholar, the present Provost of White's College. The editor has been content to let White and his correspondents speak for themselves, but rarely interposing to set us right on some misconception, or to explain (often, it is clear, after much expenditure of time and trouble) who are the persons referred to in the correspondence; and the result is one of the most delightful stories of a quiet life ever told in our language. As we reluctantly close the second volume, we feel that we now know White perfectly well as he really was. There is no need for a reviewer to anticipate the pleasure of readers by attempting to copy the picture.
The Life and Letters of Gilbert White of Selborne.
Written and Edited by his Great-Grandnephew, Rashleigh Holt-White. Two Vols. 8vo. Pp., Vol. I., xv + 330; Vol. II., ix + 300. (London: John Murray, 1901.) Price 32s.
The Natural History of Selborne.
By Gilbert White. Pp. vii + 381. (London: J. M. Dent and Co.) Price 1s. 6d. net.
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The Life and Letters of Gilbert White of Selborne The Natural History of Selborne . Nature 64, 276 (1901). https://doi.org/10.1038/064276a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/064276a0