Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing 2020
A naturalist's passionate dive into the lives of bees (of all stripes)-and the natural world in her own backyard.
Brigit Strawbridge Howard was shocked the day she realised she knew more about the French Revolution than she did about her native trees. And birds. And wildflowers. And bees. The thought stopped her-quite literally-in her tracks. But that day was also the start of a journey,one filled with silver birches and hairy-footed flower bees,skylarks,and rosebay willow herb,and the joy that comes with deepening one's relationship with place.
Dancing with Bees is Strawbridge Howard's charming and eloquent account of a return to noticing,to rediscovering a perspective on the world that had somehow been lost to her for decades and to reconnecting with the natural world. With special care and attention to the plight of pollinators,including honeybees,bumblebees,and solitary bees,and what we can do to help them,Strawbridge Howard shares fascinating details of the lives of flora and fauna that have filled her days with ever-increasing wonder and delight.
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing CoISBN: 9781645020257Number of pages: 304Weight: 227 gDimensions: 197 x 127 x 21 mm
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'Hovering through Brigit Strawbridge Howard's remarkable encounters with bees,alighting on beautiful and often unexpected descriptions of bumblebees,miner bees,and even parasitizing cuckoo bees,one dips into a world most of us have forgotten. By leading us gently and discretely into the minutiae of nature,Brigit shows how rewarding it is to reconnect-how the world's tiniest beings can not only lift our spirits,but signal the way to a richer,wilder future.'- Isabella Tree,author of Wilding
'Dancing with Bees is a passionate hymn to nature,a joyful celebration not just of bees,but of the power of paying attention. Strawbridge Howard's rediscovery of the natural world is infused with a sense of wonder both irresistible and infectious. And the promise of this beautiful book is that if we take the trouble to notice our natural surroundings,we too can find a way to reconnect not just to nature,but to a deeper sense of ourselves.'- Caroline Lucas,MP,former Green Party Leader
'I devoured this book as I would a jar of exquisite honey. I was as fascinated by it as I would be watching a hive of bees at work. I may read another nature book this year,but not a better one. Or a more important one. As is made so manifestly clear in these pages,we need our bees. Thank God,then,for Brigit Strawbridge Howard,our queen bee-advocate.'- John Lewis-Stempel,author of Still Water and Meadowland
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