‘Matter of Curious Inquiry’: Gilbert White and The Natural History of Selborne: part 1
18 July 2020 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Gilbert White, the pioneering naturalist and author of the perennially popular Natural History of Selborne, published in 1788. In this blog post, I explore some aspects of Gilbert White’s life, his significance as a proto-environmentalist and scientist, and the charm of his natural-history writing.