Helena Attlee rejoices in the story of a late-Victorian polymath whose studies of flora, fauna and archaeology in the Alpes Maritimes are still of great value today.
CLARENCE BICKNELL was an Anglican clergyman who fell out of love with the Church and moved to Bordighera on the italian riviera in 1879. This book by his great-grand-niece paints an endearing picture of her uncle, who carved out such an important place for himself in botanical studies and archaeological fieldwork that 36 museums and universities in 12 countries have preserved his watercolours of wildflowers, the rubbings he took from Bronze Age rock engravings, his paintings of landscapes in Liguria and the Alps and his letters, diaries, sketchbooks, notebooks and photographs.
Valerie Lester has drawn on these public and private collections and on the archives of the Bicknell museum in Bordighera to produce a book rich in illustrations of every kind.
Bicknell moved to Bordighera when he was 38. He avoided the snobbish conversations and stuffy tea parties of other english residents by walking great distances along the seashore or climbing to extraordinary heights in the Alpes Maritimes.
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