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.
Denne historien er fra August 15, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra August 15, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds