John Lewis Stempel presents his wonderful book, England, A Natural History.

Watch John Lewis-Stempel as he presents his magnum opus. A five year project that offers an intimate account of the landscapes that define England. Described by The Times as ‘Britain’s finest living nature writer’ he weaves a tapestry of distinctive habitats which together create a country unique for its rich diversity of flora and fauna. In writing this book, John Lewis-Stempel chooses twelve quintessential places and immerses himself in their world: their singular atmosphere, the play of the seasons; the feel of the wind in midwinter; the sounds of daybreak; how twilight settles. Here is the bird that, reappearing each time he visits, becomes a familiar, the creeping insects that are visible only when prostrate, the fish that flash through dark water, dancing dragonflies, rutting deer. Referencing beloved great writers in whose footsteps he treads – Gilbert White, John Clare, W. H. Hudson, Richard Jefferies, Edward Thomas – and combining breathtakingly beautiful prose with detailed wildlife observation, botanical fact and ancient folklore, Lewis-Stempel explores all the hidden workings of England’s natural world. Each habitat – whether managed park or wild moor, plunging cliff or man-made Broads – has also shaped human life, forming our idea of ourselves and our sense of what ‘England’ means. ABOUT JOHN LEWIS_STEMPEL John Lewis-Stempel is a farmer and ‘Britain’s finest living nature writer’ (The Times). His books include the Sunday Times bestsellers Woodston, The Running Hare and The Wood. He is the only person to have won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing twice, with Meadowland and Where Poppies Blow. He writes regularly for Country Life, The Times and the Countryman magazine and features for the Sunday Express. In 2016, he was named Magazine Columnist of the Year for his column in Country Life. He farms cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. Traditionally.