Robin

As part of the Reaktion books’ ‘Animal’ series, Helen F Wilson brings together the various ways that Robins have permeated our culture, whether in books, folk stories, newspaper stories, adverts or artwork. As you work your way through the book for every poem or picture you’ll be familiar with, there are another 10 that will be completely new and often surprising. 

This is all underpinned by knowledge and research on the actual bird, showing how much of the folklore around Robins is from attempts to understand them.

Fortunately, Robin doesn’t stray into being too twee or sentimental, with plenty of tales surrounding the darker side of these birds or the darker side of our impact on them. Next time I see a photo of a Robin nesting in a plant pot or discarded welly, I’ll remember it could just as easily be the skull of a hanged man.

The main thrust of the book investigates the roles that the Robin (aka European Robin) plays in our culture, but space is allotted for other ‘robin’ species, including the unrelated American and Australian Robins which have been named after our familiar garden equivalent.

The final chapter of the book investigates the future of the Robin, which feels an interesting choice given the ubiquity of them and how resilient they have generally been to human activity compared to many birds. However, this is put into the context of the unnecessary gauntlets which even common birds must run in a modern landscape.

If you are interested in the cultural history of birds then this is a small but rich book for you.

Book reviewed by Rob Jaques