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The Consolation of Nature
- Spring in the Time of Coronavirus
- Narrated by: Stephen Boxer, David Shaw Parker, Charles Armstrong
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Memoirs, Diaries & Correspondence
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Summary
Nature took on a new importance for thousands of people when the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Britain, providing solace in a time of great anxiety - not least because the crisis struck at the beginning of spring, the season of hope and renewal, and furthermore, in an extraordinary conjunction, the spring of 2020 turned out to be the loveliest spring ever recorded in Britain.
Three nature writers, living like everyone else under lockdown, but walking out each day to exercise, resolved to record their experiences of the coronavirus spring, in widely contrasting parts of the country. They did so to share with others their sense of the wonder, inspiration and delight the natural world can offer, and The Consolation of Nature is the enthralling account of what they discovered by literally walking out from their front doors.
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Performance
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- S. Todd
- 29-10-20
Experiential journey through Spring
This unique view of Spring 2020 in different parts of England during lockdown is recounted by three naturalists in a vivid, passionate manner, drawing on poems lauding nature. The account is punctuated by covid headlines and comparative figures of species returning, explaining why the latter may be fluctuating. I particularly enjoyed the etymological explanations. As a relative newby, I kept pausing to look up the names of wildlife mentioned, to delight in the narrators' journey as they proceeded through Spring's awakening. Whether curious or a fellow-naturalist, this makes for delightful listening