"At the end of the eighteenth century, Britain, and much of the Western world, fell in love with nature. Thomas Bewick's History of British Birds marked the moment as the first "field guide" for ordinary people, illustrated with woodcuts of astonishing accuracy and beauty. But his work was far more than a mere guide, for in the vignettes scattered throughout the book, Bewick captured the vanishing world of rural English life." "In this biography, Jenny Uglow tells the story of the farmer's son from Tyneside who influenced book illustration for a century to come. It is a story of violent change, radical politics, lost ways of life, and the beauty of the wild - a journey to the beginning of our lasting obsession with the natural world."--BOOK JACKET. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

In this perceptive biography, Uglow (A Little History of British Gardening), an editor at the British publisher Chatto & Windus, chronicles the life of the wood engraver acclaimed for exquisite little vignettes of the Northumbrian countryside and its people. Thomas Bewick (1753 1828) remained most of his life in his beloved Northumberland, where he was much in demand for bookplates, trade cards, playbills, business cards, leaflets and broadsides decorated with charming images of farmers, fishermen, peddlers, barnyards, moors, trees and streams. A naturalist as well as an artist, he rose to national fame with illustrations for three books, A General History of Quadrupeds, A History of British Birds and an edition of Aesop's Fables. Despite his celebrity, Bewick was "a plain, no-nonsense man" who cherished his family, loved fishing and tramping about the countryside and occasionally dabbled in politics. Uglow fleshes out what might have been a prosaic biography with a wealth of fascinating information about the world in which Bewick lived and worked including descriptions of Northumberland and its people, and accounts of contemporaneous politics and religious thought. Her charming book, copiously illustrated with Bewick's wood engravings, includes extensive notes and a list of Bewick's workshop apprentices. 2 maps. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

*Starred Review* Bewick's finely detailed and spirited wood engravings of English country life, especially his vividly individualized animals, thrilled a nation. Small-scale yet lavishly expressive in their "affectionate accuracy," many of Bewick's enthralling prints enliven the pages of this sparkling portrait of a remarkably gifted and unpretentious artist. Uglow (The Lunar Men, 2002) presents a man happiest on long walking tours who "detested war" and protested cruelty to animals. Born in 1753 in the Tyne Valley, Bewick was a prankish lad apprenticed young to an engraver in Newcastle. He soon claimed the humble woodcut as his special medium and elevated it to a fine art, advancing the evolution of children's books and creating encyclopedic illustrated works of natural history that inspired Audubon. As industrialization gained momentum, Bewick's passionate attunement to nature resonated with all who treasured traditional rural life, and among his most eloquent admirers were Charlotte Brontė, William Wordsworth, and Beatrix Potter. Just as Bewick created meticulously rendered settings for his vital animals and country folk, Uglow fully renders Bewick's tumultuous world in her precise and joyful celebration of an artist who actually did make the world a better place. Seaman, Donna. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Audubon is generally credited as the epitome of aviary artistic creation. Bewick (1753-1828), celebrated artist and naturalist, born in northern England, created prints from wood engravings that predated Audubon in illustration and realistic observational depictions of birds, beasts, and nature. As portrayed by Uglow, Bewick appears as valuable artist and unique personality. His devotion to the beauty and care of nature was mirrored in both his art and his proactive and political defense of environmental issues of his time. Bewick's illustrations in A General History of Quadrupeds (1824), A History of British Birds (1805), and an edition of Aesop's Fables were the source of his celebrity. His artwork depicts the landscape of northern England's farmers, fishermen, tradesmen, countryside, waterways, nature, and wildlife, and was sought for a variety of printed materials such as bookplates, playbills, business cards, leaflets, and broadsides. Uglow offers a highly readable and intelligent biography with detailed description about the world in which Bewick lived and worked. The volume is generously illustrated with Bewick's prints, including a sampling of his tiny tailpieces, in their original sizes, along with additional supporting illustrations. The table of contents flows with headings referencing water. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduates through professionals. General Readers; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty; Professionals/Practitioners. Reviewed by C. B. Hudson. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.