Edith's Life & Work
Rating:
5 / 5
I became drawn to the work and life of Edith Holden after I saw the TV series that was made of her life. I became very intrigued and even bought and read the Ina Taylor biography. Her bizarre and mysterious death intrigued me almost as much as her life. Although there was no sign of struggle, and the inquest ruled her death an accident, I'm not entirely convinced that Edith died accidentally. I'm somewhat convinced that she may have committed suicide. Even if she couldn't swim, it's hard to believe that a woman can drown in 4 feet of water that close to shore unless she did it intentionally. This is an enchanting book full of nature illustrations by Edith Holden, with excerpts of poetry by great poets, and nature diary entries and observations by Edith, about about birds, insects, flowers, rural places she visited, that sort of thing. Very appealing for those with a nastalgia for country surroundings and the country life. David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"
she's back, better than ever
Rating:
5 / 5
When i found out that the Country diary of an Edwardian Lady was to come back in print after more than five years in the wilderness, i remembered feeling elated, why, because Ms Holden and her talents was the best thing ever to have happened to the book world,and this new edition showing what the diary looked like at the time it was written is the best ever, she put rural warwickshire on the map in a way no other author could have or will do, the book is not only a teaching of nature (remembering that Edith was a teacher) but also a portable art gallery of in my opinion some of the best surviving examples of her artwork, i have long been a holden devotee (the word fan is reserved for rowdy pop stars)i have and always will treasure this beautiful book and its sister publication the nature notes of an edwardian lady, we love this book perhaps for its nostalgic charm for all things turn of the century, but more importantly because most of ediths beloved nature trails around her home in Olton Hollow, solihull now no longer exist, so my advice, buy this book and give it pride of place in the cabinet
A lovely book
Rating:
4 / 5
I bought this book years ago and foolishly gave it away. I recently repurchased it and am glad to have it back. I give it four stars instead of five because I figure five stars should be reserved for John James Audubon.For the most part I like the older edition (ISBN 0-03-021026-7) better. It is printed on yellowish paper with darkened edges, purposely made to look a bit aged. The colors are darker and the detail on the illustrations shows up better. But this 2001 edition has its good points too. It's printed on pure white paper so even though some of the pictures look a little washed out, the colors look clearer and brighter, not so muddy. So some people might prefer this new edition. There's a biography of Edith Holden, out of print, that I'd be interested to read. (Edwardian Lady: The Story of Edith Holden, by Ina Taylor.)
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