Friday 23 May 2014

Nature Notes

It was back at the beginning of May when Mum from Mum's Simply Living Blog hosted a virtual spring fair with virtual raffle. The prize on offer wasn't virtual though, it was very real, The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden, and I was the lucky winner.


Not only did Mum send me the book, but she also popped a lovely bookmark in the parcel too. I don't have many bookmarks so I was really pleased with this.

The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady is the predecessor to The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady which you may already be familiar with, and is written in a similar style.


The book is illustrated with Edith's watercolour paintings of flowers, plants, birds and butterflies which are just charming.



Edith's writing transports me to places I've never seen before.


On the 16th of March 1920, at the age of 48, Edith Holden died tragically by drowning in the Thames at Kew whilst gathering buds from chestnut trees.

Thank you, Mum, I shall enjoy reading this book very much.

26 comments:

  1. Its such a lovely book, lucky you, it sounds like it will be well enjoyed.

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    1. I'm sure I will enjoy it. I'm looking forward to getting started on it properly, I've only had a flick through so far.

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  2. What a nice win, lovely watercolors :)

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    1. The illustrations are really beautiful. Some people are so talented, I can't draw to save my life.

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  3. It looks a lovely book and so nice that you won it. Such a sad end for poor Edith Holden.

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    1. The book is a lovely prize. Poor Edith had such a tragic end, and she was young too. I'm sure she had much more to give.

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  4. What a lovely prize Jo! I have this book and enjoy it very much, I wish that I also had the Country Diary, one day I will find a copy! Hope that you enjoy reading it and keeping your place with that lovely bookmark! xx

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    1. I think I'd like the Country Diary one too, I shall be scouring the second hand bookshops now that I have this one, I'd like the set. I'm sure I'll love reading it, and looking at those beautiful pictures too.

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  5. Lucky you, that looks to be a really lovely book. That's a nice bookmark, I have one that's similar but mostly red. Flighty xx

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    1. It's a book I'll really enjoy reading. I don't have many bookmarks, in fact I have a butterfly one which marks the pages when used so I don't use it and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel one, and that's it, so it's nice to have a new one to add to the very small collection.

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  6. What a lovely prize. It sounds like a very interesting book and one I would also enjoy.

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    1. I think that anyone interested in nature would enjoy this book. The watercolours are really beautiful too, it's nice to have these to accompany the notes.

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  7. This is a lovely book. It has been on my bookshelves for many years. I think you will really enjoy it!

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    1. I'm sure I will, I'm really looking forward to reading it. It's nice to hear that you've had the pleasure of reading it too.

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  8. I'm so glad that you are pleased with your win. I dip into mine every month.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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    1. I'm thrilled with it, it's a beautiful book and I'll enjoy reading it very much. Thank you, again.

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  9. My mother-in-law first introduced me to these book, they are just beautiful. She bought me them later on and I love looking through them.

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    1. It's a beautiful book, I shall be looking out for the Country Diary one now to complete the set.

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  10. Well done Jo, it looks a lovely book X

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    1. It is. I'm looking forward to reading it right the way through.

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  11. I have that book and the Country Diary book too. They're beautiful books for reading or just for dipping into now and again. Congrats on winning yours! :o)

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    1. It's definitely a book you can just dip in to. It will be fun seeing what Edith was noticing at certain times of the year and comparing what I'm noticing myself.

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  12. Well done on winning such a lovely prize. I remember many years ago M & S made a range of bedroom home furnishings based on the 4th photo above, I saved and saved for months to buy it for our first home. The pictures are beautiful but I didn't know anything of Edith Holden.

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    1. I've bought diaries from M & S in the past which are based on The County Diary of an Edwardian Lady and were beautifully illustrated with Edith Holden's watercolours. I didn't know they'd made a range of bedroom furnishings based on it too.

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  13. What a lovely prize and I'd not realised that she died so young or so long ago.
    I have a copy of the latter, which I must have picked up second hand many years ago, as it has a small handwritten message to somebody inside the cover. The published date in mine is 1979 and I do love the book. Take care.

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    1. I do love discovering handwritten messages in second hand books, they can reveal so much about who's had the book before. It's very sad that Edith died so young but she left such wonderful notes for us all to enjoy for many years.

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