Folio Archives 424: Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson - 1995
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1wcarter
Tarka the Otter, His Joyful Water-life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers by Henry Williamson
This is a delightful and beautifully written book. If you have had a bad day and need to calm down, this is the book for you (except for the last chapter). Williamson follows the life of an otter living in North Devon from birth to death and describes in extraordinary detail the life of otters and their interactions with each other and the wildlife around them.
The lives of other animals (badgers, ferrets, rats, hares etc.), birds (herons, wagtails, tits, gulls, swans etc.) and the otters prey of frogs and fish (mullet, trout, prawns etc.) are also bought to life in a countryside idyll that is at times not so idyllic. The otters’ enemies are Winter, dogs, man and when they are young, eagles, and the otters’ reactions to these threats are also described showing Williamson’s intricate knowledge of the countryside and all its life forms.
First published in an edition of only 100 copies in 1927, Williamson has used many antiquated and local dialect words for animals, plants and geographic features that are usually explained later in the text, but these words, which add even more charm to the book, are also defined in an “Apologia pro Verba Mea” at the back of the book.
Then there are the 24 superbly detailed wood engravings by C. F. Tuncliffe taken from the 1932 edition which appear throughout the book close to the appropriate text. The whole book is an overwhelming delight describing the nature of Devon a century ago and as far from an action packed thriller as you can get.
The xiv + 220 page book is bound in dark green cloth with a cover-label that is a repeat of the frontispiece, and with gilt titling on cover and spine. There is a five page introduction by J. W. Fortescue and a two page forward by Paul Scofield. The map endleaves are printed black on dark green, which makes them difficult to read. The dark green slipcase is printed in black with a wrap-around picture which is also found in the book. The slipcase measures 23.7x16.8cm.
Wrap-around montage of slipcase illustration.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
This is a delightful and beautifully written book. If you have had a bad day and need to calm down, this is the book for you (except for the last chapter). Williamson follows the life of an otter living in North Devon from birth to death and describes in extraordinary detail the life of otters and their interactions with each other and the wildlife around them.
The lives of other animals (badgers, ferrets, rats, hares etc.), birds (herons, wagtails, tits, gulls, swans etc.) and the otters prey of frogs and fish (mullet, trout, prawns etc.) are also bought to life in a countryside idyll that is at times not so idyllic. The otters’ enemies are Winter, dogs, man and when they are young, eagles, and the otters’ reactions to these threats are also described showing Williamson’s intricate knowledge of the countryside and all its life forms.
First published in an edition of only 100 copies in 1927, Williamson has used many antiquated and local dialect words for animals, plants and geographic features that are usually explained later in the text, but these words, which add even more charm to the book, are also defined in an “Apologia pro Verba Mea” at the back of the book.
Then there are the 24 superbly detailed wood engravings by C. F. Tuncliffe taken from the 1932 edition which appear throughout the book close to the appropriate text. The whole book is an overwhelming delight describing the nature of Devon a century ago and as far from an action packed thriller as you can get.
The xiv + 220 page book is bound in dark green cloth with a cover-label that is a repeat of the frontispiece, and with gilt titling on cover and spine. There is a five page introduction by J. W. Fortescue and a two page forward by Paul Scofield. The map endleaves are printed black on dark green, which makes them difficult to read. The dark green slipcase is printed in black with a wrap-around picture which is also found in the book. The slipcase measures 23.7x16.8cm.
Wrap-around montage of slipcase illustration.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
2Jeremy53
Thanks Warwick. This is a truly lovely edition. I actually have it ‘facing out’ on my bookshelf so that the illustration on the slipcase is prominent.
I read it for the first time last year (it was a gift to me many years ago), and while I agree that in the right mindset, it is a calming book, I found it a little underwhelming. Without anthropomorphism, it does read like a book version of the nature channel - which is great and all props to the author, who includes so much beautiful detail, but for me it just didn’t have that extra dimension to the narrative I was craving.
But that’s just my experience of it, of course.
I read it for the first time last year (it was a gift to me many years ago), and while I agree that in the right mindset, it is a calming book, I found it a little underwhelming. Without anthropomorphism, it does read like a book version of the nature channel - which is great and all props to the author, who includes so much beautiful detail, but for me it just didn’t have that extra dimension to the narrative I was craving.
But that’s just my experience of it, of course.
