The Atlas of Early Modern Wildlife

Britain and Ireland between the Middle Ages and the Industrial Revolution

LEE RAYE

Provides maps and analysis of the early modern distribution of more than 160 species.

Gathers observations by amateur naturalists, travellers and local historians from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries for the very first time.

Derived from over 10,000 records from over 200 primary sources.

The Atlas of Early Modern Wildlife looks at the era before climate change, before the intensification of agriculture, before even the Industrial Revolution. In the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, beavers still swim in the River Ness. Isolated populations of wolves and lynxes linger in the uplands. Sea eagles are widespread around the coasts. Wildcats and pine martens remain common in the Lake District.

In this ground-breaking volume, the observations of early modern amateur naturalists, travellers and local historians are gathered together for the very first time. Drawing on more than 10,000 records from across Britain and Ireland, the book presents maps and notes on the former distribution of over 160 species, providing a new baseline against which to discuss subsequent declines and extinctions, expansions and introductions.

PRAISE FOR THE ATLAS OF EARLY MODERN WILDLIFE

Indispensable for historians of natural history, environmental historians, and anyone interested in heritage and the natural world in Britain and Ireland. Valuable also for analysis of past taxonomy. Highly recommended.

Anna Marie Roos, Professor of the History of Science and Medicine, University of Lincoln

A stonker of a book.

Iolo Williams, naturalist and TV presenter

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Lee Raye is an associate lecturer at the Open University and a Fellow of the Linnaean Society specialising in the history of wild animals and plants in preindustrial Britain and Ireland. Their translation of Robert Sibbald’s (1684) Wild Plants of Scotland and The Animals of Scotland was published in 2020.

PUBLICATION DATE 18 July 2023

PUBLISHER

Pelagic Publishing

FORMAT | ISBN | PRICE

Hbk | 9781784274078 | £45.00 | $64.00 eBook available

SIZE 244 x 170 mm

PAGES 408pp

BIC SUBJECTS

PSV, RBX, WNC

BISAC SUBJECTS

SCI070000, SCI054000, NAT037000

RIGHTS

World