The Passionate Observer by Jean-Henri Fabre


The Passionate Observer
Title : The Passionate Observer
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0811809358
ISBN-10 : 9780811809351
Language : English
Format Type : Hardcover
Number of Pages : 133
Publication : First published March 1, 1998

A combination of contemporary watercolors by Marlene McLoughlin and nature writing by the 19th-century French naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre. McLoughlin's watercolors vary from detailed illustrations of Fabre's subjects birds, insects, flowers to landscapes showing the France in which Fabre worked. Fabre's writing is similarly at one moment he is giving vivid descriptions of eggs and fungi, at the next he is telling stories about his grandmother or his theories on heredity. Fabre's writings are excerpts from his 1879 Souvenirs Entomologiques . Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

The Passionate Observer Reviews

  • Kay

    Originally read in March 2000. Rereading in January 2017. Original review is as follows.

    Lovely watercolor illustrations by McLouglin accompany these excerpts from the writings of Fabre's classic text on insects, Souvenirs Entomologiques which (we're informed) was a huge hit when it was published back in 1879.

    Imagine... in 1879, books on insects were bestsellers. Now there's a world I can relate to.

    Read this book for the "Reading Genres" book club "Eurobooks" meeting, for which I decided to concentrate on European entomologists. I read five books, all told, for this meeting, which was undoubtedly overkill, but which I wholeheartedly enjoyed.

  • Renee

    I would highly recommend to all of those that love Charlotte Mason philosophy, nature, and want to learn more about Jean Henri Fabre. Fair Warning, you might even like him more just because of this book .

  • Edwina Callan

    Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that a book about the study of insects would fascinate me so much. The author writes in such a magical way when describing EVERYTHING, from Bees to the poverty he grew up in, that I felt as though I was right there beside him amidst the rock-roses and the heather.

  • Kim

    Beautiful illustrations that reminded me of my time living in the South of France - the reason I picked this book up to begin with.

  • Alyson

    Loved the tiny little watercolor animals.

  • Rick Davis

    This was a nice collection of nature writings by Fabre. I think I'm going to try to get one of his complete books to read. The watercolor illustrations were beautiful as well.

    Full review here:
    http://oldeship.blogspot.com/2014/08/...

  • Ted Gurley

    Early biography and observations of Jean-Henri Fabre.