The Peregrine: The Hill of Summer & Diaries (The complete works of J. A. Baker)

It is easy to see why J. A. Baker is held in such high regard, and why his small body of work has inspired writers and poets. His prose beautifully evokes the feeling of being out, immersed in the natural world, patiently waiting for events to unfold. ‘The Peregrine’ is no dry, scientific description of a species, but the outcome of ten years of obsession with the bird, condensed into one epic winter’s tale. Written in the sixties, when organochlorines had driven the raptor population almost to extinction, there is an air of desperation and nostalgia. Baker can be accused of anthropomorphism: the bird has ‘a code of conduct’ rather than a behaviour pattern; it ‘kills in anger’, or is ‘insane’. To enjoy this book, read it for literary truth rather than taking it literally as a diary.

Book reviewed by Heather Pymar