In the annals of natural history, few – if indeed any – books can rival the Rev. Gilbert White’s 18th century masterpiece The Natural History of Selborne for charm, eloquence, and sheer readability. A collection of letters written over a period of twenty years to Thomas Pennant and Daines Barrington concerning the animals, plants, geology, weather, and other related aspects of that rural Hampshire parish, the Natural History embodies the practice of dedicated amateur natural history study at its very best and most delightful. Reading its pages, one is quickly taken with Rev. White’s enthusiasm, his catholicity of natural history and antiquarian interests, and his delight in the world he sees around him. Indeed, so well has the book been received by the reading public that it has never been out of print since its original edition was published in 1789. Thus as the date on which this brief essay will be published, 18 July 2024, marks the three-hundred-and-fourth anniversary of his birth in 1720 at the very same location as the parish he so lovingly chronicled, it seems only appropriate to bring you news of the most recently published edition of it.
In late 2022, Oxford University Press added a third edition of The Natural History of Selborne to the paperback Oxford World’s Classics edition and the jacketed hardcover edition that they already had – and still have – in print. This new edition was published as part of the Oxford World’s Classics Hardback Collection series (a series I very much encourage you to investigate further as it contains some superb classic works that you might not presently know but that could very easily become new favourites) and contains all the text, appendices, notes, and of course Thomas Pennant’s seventeen illustrations from the original edition. Even if you already have an older copy of the Natural History in your library, this is well worth considering as an addition, and if you don’t – well, then I very much hope you take this opportunity to rectify the situation accordingly.
Relatedly, as I’m writing about the Natural History, I would also like to bring to your attention an unabridged recording of it as brilliantly read by Peter Wickham that is available through Naxos Audio Books. Hearing Mr. Wickham so superbly embody the voice and spirit of the good parson, it is easy to believe that one has magically crossed the centuries and is hearing the very voice of the author himself. Were this an LP, I would have long since worn out the grooves of it so often have I listened to it whilst going about my household activities, tending the garden (such as it is), or – in the circumstances when I have appreciated it most to provide much needed solace and re-connection – when traveling on business to places where I find myself uncomfortably isolated by airports and conference centers from the natural world.
