The Butterfly

Nigel Andrew

Nigel Andrew has worked as a reference librarian, a critic and a feature writer for publications including the Times, Listener, Sunday Times, and Guardian/Observer. He then joined the staff of Radio Times before moving on to a full-time position at the Daily Mail. He now contributes to Literary Review and Slightly Foxed. His book, The Mother of Beauty: On the Golden Age of English Church Monumentsand Other Matters of Life and Death (2019) was described as ‘a wonderful book in every way, perfect for anyone interested in churches, in the lost corners of England, or in meditating on mortality’.

The Butterfly

Flights of enchantment

by Nigel Andrew

  • RRP: £8.99 (print)
  • Format: Paperback
  • ISBN: 9781916812338

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Understanding, loving and protecting butterflies—in all their enchantments.

Butterflies have enchanted and intrigued us for centuries. From the eighteenth-century “aurelians”, through the Victorian “golden age” of collecting, to the twentieth-century focus on conservation, humans have chased glimpses of these beautiful but elusive creatures. Winding through literature, art, music, and dreams, The Butterfly: Flights of Enchantment uncovers why butterflies continue to inhabit such a profound place in our imagination.

A first of its kind in combining the history of human interest in butterflies with a guide to practical observation, this pocket guide encourages us to nurture our curiosity and head out into our local environment, focusing on edgeland habitats that are home to many species.

It is perhaps because butterflies are so fragile and fleeting that we are so beguiled by them. But now, as numbers dwindle, they have never been more difficult to spot. The Butterfly paves the way towards observing, identifying and ultimately protecting them.