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| '''Richard Mabey''' (born 20 February 1941) has been called by the ''Times'' 'Britain's greatest living nature writer'. Among his acclaimed publications are ''Food for Free'', ''The Unofficial Countryside'' and ''The Common Ground'', as well as his study of the nightingale, ''Whistling in the Dark''. His book about Gilbert White won the 1986 Whitbread Biography of the Year. Richard Mabey devised, researched and wrote the ground breaking bestseller Flora Britannica, which won the British Book Awards’ Illustrated Book of the Year and the Botanical Society of the British Isles’ President’s Award and was runner-up for the BP Natural World Book Prize. Between 2000 and 2002 Mabey suffered with depression and his book ''Nature Cure'', which describes his experiences and recovery in the context of man’s relationship with landscape and nature, was short-listed for three major literary awards, the Whitbread Biography of the Year, the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize for evoking the spirit of place and the J.R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography. | |||
| '''Richard Mabey''' (born 20 February 1941) is a ] and author. Since 1988, he has written a regular column for '']'' magazine, and is on its advisory board. | |||
| He made films for the BBC on Kew Gardens and The Yorkshire Dales. He also wrote and narrated the 1996 BBC television series ''Postcards from the Country''. His books ''The Unofficial Countryside'' and ''The Flowering of Britain'' were also made into BBC TV series. | |||
| ==Education== | |||
| Mabey was educated at three ]s, all in ], ]. The first was at ], followed by ] and then ]. He then went to ] at the ]. | |||
| ==Biography== | |||
| Mabey was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire and now lives near Diss in Norfolk. | |||
| Richard Mabey contributes frequently to BBC radio. ‘The Scientist and the Romantic', a series of five essays in which he discussed his lifelong relationship with science and the natural environment, were broadcast on Radio 3 in 2009. | |||
| Mabey has also written on countryside and art issues for '']'', '']'', '']'' and the '']''. A selection of these writings was compiled as the book ''Country Matters''. | |||
| He also wrote and narrated the 1996 ] ] ''Postcards from the Country'', for whose eight, 40- minute episodes he was series ], as well as being the producer- ] on four. His books ''The Unofficial Countryside'' and ''The Flowering of Britain'' were also made into BBC TV series. | |||
| In the 1980s he sat on the UK government’s advisory body, the Nature Conservancy Council. He has been awarded two Leverhulme Fellowships, and honorary doctorates by St Andrews and Essex universities for his contributions to nature writing. He was appointed to the Civil List in 2008 for services to literature. He is a Director of the arts and conservation charity Common Ground, Vice-President of the Open Spaces Society and Patron of the John Clare Society. | |||
| His biography of the 18th-century English naturalist ] won the 1986 ]. | |||
| In November 2007, Mabey debated the future of the ] countryside with ], ], ] and ] as part of ]'s annual Volunteers' Conference. | |||
| Mabey has suffered from ] and his book ''Nature Cure'' describes his experiences and recovery in the context of man's relationship with landscape and nature. | |||
| Mabey has also written on countryside and art issues for the ''Times'', the ''Guardian'', the ''Independent'', ''Granta'' and ''Resurgence''. A selection of these writings was compiled as the book ''Country Matters''. He has written a personal column in ''BBC Wildlife Magazine'' since 1984. | |||
| ==Bibliography== | |||
| ===His books=== | |||
| *''Pop Process'' (] 1969) | |||
| *''Pollution Handbook'' (] 1974) | |||
| *''Plants with a Purpose'' (], 1977) | |||
| *''Plants with a Purpose'' (] 1979) | |||
| *''The Common Ground'' (], 1980) | |||
| *''The Flowering of Britain'' (Hutchinson, 1980) | |||
| *''Back to the roots'' (with Francesca Greenoak; Arena, 1983) | |||
| *''In a Green Shade'' (Hutchinson, 1983) | |||
| *''Gilbert White'' (], 1986) | |||
| *''The New Age Herbalist'' (w. Michael McIntyre; ] 1988) | |||
| *''The Flowering of Kew'' (Ebury Press; 1988) | |||
| *''The Flowering of Britain'': revised edition (], 1989) | |||
| *''Home Country'' (Century, 1990) | |||
| *''The Flowers of May'' (with Caroline May, illustrator; ], 1990) | |||
| *''A Nature Journal'' (with illustrations by Clare Roberts; Chatto, 1991) | |||
| *''The Book of Nightingales'' | |||
| *''Country Matters'' | |||
| *'']'' | |||
| *''The Flora of Hampshire'' (co-author) | |||
| *''The Flowering of Britain'' | |||
| *''Food for Free'' (Collins, 1972) | |||
| *''The Frampton Flora'' | |||
| *''Landlocked'' | |||
| *''Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe'' | |||
| *''Plantcraft'' | |||
| *''Roadside Wild Life Book'' | |||
| *''The Secret Life of the New Forest'' (with Eric Ashby, illustrator) | |||
| *''The Unofficial Countryside'' | |||
| *''Whistling in the Dark: In Pursuit of the Nightingale'' | |||
| *''The Wildwood'' (with Gareth Lovett Jones) | |||
| *''The Yorkshire Dales'' (With landscape photographer Graham Nobles) | |||
| *''Nature Cure'' (Chatto and Windus, 2005, ISBN 0-7011-7601-6) | |||
| *''Birds Britannica'' (with ]), ], 2005 | |||
| *''Fencing Paradise : Exploring the Gardens of Eden'' ], 2005 ISBN 1-903919-31-2 | |||
| *''Beechcombings. The Narratives of Trees''. (2007) Chatto and Windus. London. | |||
| ==Education== | |||
| ===Children's books=== | |||
| Mabey was educated at Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire. He then went to St. Catherine's College at the University of Oxford, where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. | |||
| *''Street Flowers'' | |||
| *''Oak and Company'' | |||
| == |
==Biography== | ||
| After education at Oxford, Richard Mabey worked as a lecturer in Social Studies in Further Education, then as a Senior Editor at Penguin Books. He became a full-time writer in 1974. He spent most of his life among the beechwoods of the Chilterns. He now lives in Norfolk, in the Waveney Valley. | |||
| *''Gardener's Labyrinth'' (Thomas Hill, ], 1987) | |||
| *''Second Nature'' - British artists, writers, record Nature of UK (], 1984) | |||
| *''The Oxford Book Of Nature Writing'' (OUP, 1999) | |||
| ==Personal Bibliography== | |||
| ===Introduction=== | |||
| ===Main Books=== | |||
| *''The Tree: A Celebration of Our Living Skyline'', edited by Peter Wood, ], 1993), ISBN 0-7153-9481-9 | |||
| *''Food for Free'', 1972 | |||
| *''An Exaltation Of Skylarks'', compiled by Stewart Beer, SMH Books, (1995), ISBN 0-9512619-7-5 | |||
| *''The Unofficial Countryside'', 1973 | |||
| *''Roadside Wildlife Book'', 1975 | |||
| *''Plants with a Purpose'', 1977 | |||
| *''The Common Ground'', 1980 | |||
| *''The Flowering of Britain'', 1980 | |||
| *''In a Green Shade'', 1983 | |||
| *''The Frampton Flora'', 1985 | |||
| *''Gilbert White'', 1986 | |||
| *''The Flowering of Kew'', 1988 | |||
| *''Home Country'', 1990 | |||
| *''A Nature Journal'', 1991 | |||
| *''Whistling in the Dark'', 1993 | |||
| *''Landlocked'', 1994 | |||
| *''Flora Britannica'', 1996 | |||
| *''Selected Writings'', 1999 | |||
| *''Nature Cure'', 2005 | |||
| *''Fencing Paradise'', 2005 | |||
| *''Beechcombings'', 2007 | |||
| *''The Full English Cassoulet'', 2008 | |||
| *''The Barley Bird'', 2010 | |||
| *''A Brush with Nature'', 2010 | |||
| ===Editions, Co-Authorship, Etc.=== | |||
| ===Articles=== | |||
| *''Class'' (ed.), 1968 | |||
| {{Expand list|date=August 2008}} | |||
| *''The Natural History of Selborne'' (ed.), Penguin, 1977 | |||
| * ('']'', 18 June 2005) | |||
| *''In Search of Food'' (with David Mabey) | |||
| * | |||
| *''Cold Comforts'', 1983 | |||
| * '''' ('']'', 13 December 2008) | |||
| *''Second Nature'' (ed.), 1984 | |||
| * (Interview in '']'', 22 December 2007) | |||
| *''NHS Everyman'' (ed.), 1993 | |||
| *''Landscape with Figures: an anthology of Richard Jeffries'' (ed.), 1986-9 | |||
| *''Back to the Roots'' (with Francesca Greenoak), 1984 | |||
| *''Gardner’s Labyrinth'' (ed.) | |||
| *''The Flowers of May'' (ed.) | |||
| *''Secret Life of the New Forest'' (with Eric Ashby, photographer) | |||
| *''The Oxford Book of Nature Writing'', 1995 | |||
| *''Yorkshire Dales'', 1996 | |||
| *''Birds Britannica'' (with Mark Cocker), 2005 | |||
| *''Lark Rise to Candleford'' (intro.), 2009 | |||
| *''Bugs Britannica'' (with Peter Marren), 2010 | |||
| *''The Garden of Weeds'', 2010 | |||
| *''The Snow Leopard'' (intro.), 2010 | |||
| ===Educational and Children’s=== | |||
| ==Portraits of Mabey== | |||
| *The Pop Process | |||
| The National Portrait Gallery has a 1984 bromide print of Richard Mabey by Mark Gerson<ref>http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/largerimage.php?search=ss&firstRun=true&role=sit&sText=mabey&LinkID=mp70398&rNo=0</ref>. Mabey agreed to sit for sculptor ] in Norfolk during 2007, as part of The Environment Triptych (2008)<ref>{{cite book|last=authors|first=various|title=Responses - Carvings and Claywork - Jon Edgar Sculpture 2003-2008|year=2008|publisher=Hesworth Press|location=UK|isbn=978-0-9558675-0-7}}</ref> along with heads of ] and ]. | |||
| *Behind the Scene | |||
| *Food | |||
| *The Pollution Handbook | |||
| *Children in Primary School | |||
| *Street Flowers | |||
| *Oak and Co. | |||
| ==Portraits of Mabey== | |||
| ==References== | |||
| The National Portrait Gallery has a 1984 bromide print of Richard Mabey by Mark Gerson. Mabey agreed to sit for sculptor Jon Edgar in Norfolk during 2007, as part of The Environment Triptych (2008) along with heads of Mary Midgley and James Lovelock. | |||
| <references/> | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Mabey, Richard}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 10:54, 3 March 2010
Richard Mabey (born 20 February 1941) has been called by the Times 'Britain's greatest living nature writer'. Among his acclaimed publications are Food for Free, The Unofficial Countryside and The Common Ground, as well as his study of the nightingale, Whistling in the Dark. His book about Gilbert White won the 1986 Whitbread Biography of the Year. Richard Mabey devised, researched and wrote the ground breaking bestseller Flora Britannica, which won the British Book Awards’ Illustrated Book of the Year and the Botanical Society of the British Isles’ President’s Award and was runner-up for the BP Natural World Book Prize. Between 2000 and 2002 Mabey suffered with depression and his book Nature Cure, which describes his experiences and recovery in the context of man’s relationship with landscape and nature, was short-listed for three major literary awards, the Whitbread Biography of the Year, the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize for evoking the spirit of place and the J.R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography.
He made films for the BBC on Kew Gardens and The Yorkshire Dales. He also wrote and narrated the 1996 BBC television series Postcards from the Country. His books The Unofficial Countryside and The Flowering of Britain were also made into BBC TV series.
Richard Mabey contributes frequently to BBC radio. ‘The Scientist and the Romantic', a series of five essays in which he discussed his lifelong relationship with science and the natural environment, were broadcast on Radio 3 in 2009.
In the 1980s he sat on the UK government’s advisory body, the Nature Conservancy Council. He has been awarded two Leverhulme Fellowships, and honorary doctorates by St Andrews and Essex universities for his contributions to nature writing. He was appointed to the Civil List in 2008 for services to literature. He is a Director of the arts and conservation charity Common Ground, Vice-President of the Open Spaces Society and Patron of the John Clare Society.
Mabey has also written on countryside and art issues for the Times, the Guardian, the Independent, Granta and Resurgence. A selection of these writings was compiled as the book Country Matters. He has written a personal column in BBC Wildlife Magazine since 1984.
Education
Mabey was educated at Berkhamsted School in Hertfordshire. He then went to St. Catherine's College at the University of Oxford, where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Biography
After education at Oxford, Richard Mabey worked as a lecturer in Social Studies in Further Education, then as a Senior Editor at Penguin Books. He became a full-time writer in 1974. He spent most of his life among the beechwoods of the Chilterns. He now lives in Norfolk, in the Waveney Valley.
Personal Bibliography
Main Books
- Food for Free, 1972
- The Unofficial Countryside, 1973
- Roadside Wildlife Book, 1975
- Plants with a Purpose, 1977
- The Common Ground, 1980
- The Flowering of Britain, 1980
- In a Green Shade, 1983
- The Frampton Flora, 1985
- Gilbert White, 1986
- The Flowering of Kew, 1988
- Home Country, 1990
- A Nature Journal, 1991
- Whistling in the Dark, 1993
- Landlocked, 1994
- Flora Britannica, 1996
- Selected Writings, 1999
- Nature Cure, 2005
- Fencing Paradise, 2005
- Beechcombings, 2007
- The Full English Cassoulet, 2008
- The Barley Bird, 2010
- A Brush with Nature, 2010
Editions, Co-Authorship, Etc.
- Class (ed.), 1968
- The Natural History of Selborne (ed.), Penguin, 1977
- In Search of Food (with David Mabey)
- Cold Comforts, 1983
- Second Nature (ed.), 1984
- NHS Everyman (ed.), 1993
- Landscape with Figures: an anthology of Richard Jeffries (ed.), 1986-9
- Back to the Roots (with Francesca Greenoak), 1984
- Gardner’s Labyrinth (ed.)
- The Flowers of May (ed.)
- Secret Life of the New Forest (with Eric Ashby, photographer)
- The Oxford Book of Nature Writing, 1995
- Yorkshire Dales, 1996
- Birds Britannica (with Mark Cocker), 2005
- Lark Rise to Candleford (intro.), 2009
- Bugs Britannica (with Peter Marren), 2010
- The Garden of Weeds, 2010
- The Snow Leopard (intro.), 2010
Educational and Children’s
- The Pop Process
- Behind the Scene
- Food
- The Pollution Handbook
- Children in Primary School
- Street Flowers
- Oak and Co.
Portraits of Mabey
The National Portrait Gallery has a 1984 bromide print of Richard Mabey by Mark Gerson. Mabey agreed to sit for sculptor Jon Edgar in Norfolk during 2007, as part of The Environment Triptych (2008) along with heads of Mary Midgley and James Lovelock.