Review
From the book jacket: Few writers have attempted
to explore the natural history of a particular animal by
adopting the animal’s own sensibility. But Verlyn
Klinkenborg—with his deeply empathetic relation to the
world around him—has done just that, and done it
brilliantly, in
Timothy.
This is the story of a tortoise whose real life was
observed by the eighteenth-century English curate
Gilbert White, author of
The Natural History of
Selborne. For thirteen years, Timothy lived in
White’s garden—making an occasional appearance in his
journals. Now Klinkenborg gives the tortoise an
unforgettable voice and powers of observation as keen as
those of any bipedal naturalist. The happy result:
Timothy regales us with an...
Beyond the Book
The Natural History &
Antiquities of Selborne
was first published in 1789 and
has gone through many editions
since, remaining a favorite
amongst nature lovers. As for
Timothy himself, he lived with
White from 1780 until White died
in 1793. Timothy died sometime
the following year but his shell
has been preserved and can be
found somewhere in the
Natural History Museum in
London (a gloriously cavernous
Victorian building which is a
"must see" for anyone visiting
London, not least because entry
is...
