Shorter notices
The Compleat Naturalist Wilfrid Blunt (Collins £3.50)
For a very reasonable price, this book provides a lively introduction to the life and work of Carl Linnaeus, enhanced by lavish and intelligently planned illustrations. Inaccessible to the modern general reader bY virute of his science and his language — a very personal mixture of Latin and Swedish—this account of Linnaeus's career illuminates his world, from early medical training in Sweden, through travels in Lapland, Germany and Holland to his appointment as professor of medicine and botany at the university of Uppsala, which he held for over thirty-five years until his death in 1778. Photographs, woodcuts, botanical paintings and drawings, as well as his own delightful Lear-like sketches, accompany the text. A useful appendix on Linnaean classification, nomenclature and method is provided by William T. Stearn of the Natural History Department of the British Museum, and Honorary Curator of the Linnean Society's incomparable botanical collections now preserved in Burlington House.
Thomas Cubitt : Master Builder, Hermione Hobhouse (Macmillan £2.60) "Such a man would do honour to any house of peers," said Queen Victoria of Thomas Cubitt, and in 568 comprehensive pages Hermione Hobhouse does full justice to the man and his achievements. This Victorian master builder constructed Osborne (assisted by Albert's exhaustive memoranda), extended Buckingham Palace, virtually created Belgravia, built half of Bloomsbury, and many of the lesser suburbs including the now modish Barnsbury. Although he founded street upon street of sumptuous dwellings for the aristocracy, he worked assiduously for the improvement of the abysmal housing situation in London, and gave evidence to many Parliamentary committees for housing reform His personal estate was found to be worth £1,000,000 on his death in 1855. Classics of World Art: The Complete Paintings of Bosch Introduction by Gregory Martin, notes and catalogue by Mia Ciotti. The Compete Painting ot Watteau Introduction by John Sunderland, notes and catalogue by Ettmore Camesasca (Weidenfeld and Nicolson £2 each)
The volumes in this series each contain 64 pages of colour plates, a catalogue raisonne of all the authenticated works (with small black-and-white reproductions of the paintings), together with an outline biography of the artist and a selection of critical reactions to his work. In the case of these two volumes, the scholarly background work and the satisfactory colour reproduction make these (relatively inexpensive) books good value for those with a more than casual interest in the painters.
The Survival of the English Countryside Victor Bonham-Carter (Hodder and Stoughton £3.00) This is more than just an appeal for conservation: it examines how the countryside has become what it is today — the changing pattern of country life over the years and the effect on it of wars and industrialization. Mr Bonham-Carter then considers the means of leisure and planning for amenity. He finishes with the rapid changes that have taken place since the last war and asks how we can use the land in the nation's best interest and what hope there is for the future.
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