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The Consolation of Nature

Spring in the Time of Coronavirus

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The Consolation of Nature

By: Michael McCarthy, Jeremy Mynott, Peter Marren
Narrated by: Stephen Boxer, David Shaw Parker, Charles Armstrong
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About this listen

Nature took on a new importance for thousands of people when the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Britain, providing solace in a time of great anxiety - not least because the crisis struck at the beginning of spring, the season of hope and renewal, and furthermore, in an extraordinary conjunction, the spring of 2020 turned out to be the loveliest spring ever recorded in Britain.

Three nature writers, living like everyone else under lockdown, but walking out each day to exercise, resolved to record their experiences of the coronavirus spring, in widely contrasting parts of the country. They did so to share with others their sense of the wonder, inspiration and delight the natural world can offer, and The Consolation of Nature is the enthralling account of what they discovered by literally walking out from their front doors.

©2020 Michael McCarthy, Jeremy Mynott, Peter Marren (P)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Birdwatching Diaries & Journals Environmentalists & Naturalists Memoirs, Diaries & Correspondence Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Professionals & Academics Science

Critic reviews

"A significant and beautifully written historical record of a unique English spring." (Adam Gretton)

"As our lives constrict again, the long spring lockdown already seems a lifetime ago. But that beautiful and frightening time has been perfectly captured in The Consolation of Nature by the naturalists Michael McCarthy, Jeremy Mynott and Peter Marren. Each reports from their home patches - Richmond, West Suffolk and North Wessex, respectively - to describe the progress of a record-breakingly sunny spring as human activity slowed and stilled. As a set of nature diaries it's lovely: full of fascinating detail and anecdote. But the undertow of the virus moving in real time beneath its sunlit surface gives it a unique emotional heft. When we emerge from this crisis our relationship with the natural world must change. This book surely is a record of the beginnings of that shift." (Melissa Harrison)

"A powerful and moving reflection on the solace brought by nature and its power as a balm for stressed-out lives." (Caroline Lucas, MP)
All stars
Most relevant
This unique view of Spring 2020 in different parts of England during lockdown is recounted by three naturalists in a vivid, passionate manner, drawing on poems lauding nature.
The account is punctuated by covid headlines and comparative figures of species returning, explaining why the latter may be fluctuating. I particularly enjoyed the etymological explanations.
As a relative newby, I kept pausing to look up the names of wildlife mentioned, to delight in the narrators' journey as they proceeded through Spring's awakening.
Whether curious or a fellow-naturalist, this makes for delightful listening

Experiential journey through Spring

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This documents the solace and joy that an appreciation of local nature brought many of us during lockdown.

Historical Document

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