Abstract
THIS little book bears a most unfortunate title, for whatever may have been the virtues of Gilbert White, he was in no proper sense of the word a saint. He was an honest, excellent Englishman, with a “curious” intellect and a generous disposition, but assuredly not more saintly than a thousand others. Mr. Wright says in his preface that “it is permissible to regard him as the patron saint of the little village where he spent the greater part of his life.” That is well enough, for it suggests no saintliness; but “Saint Gilbert” is most unhappy. The book consists of 85 small pages, largely made up of quotations from White himself and those who have recently written about him. It will do no harm, and may perhaps do some good; and that is perhaps all that need be said about it. The eight photographs which illustrate it are unusually good, and so are the tail-pieces at the end of the chapters.
"Saint" Gilbert: the Story of Gilbert White and Selborne.
By J. C. Wright. Pp. 90. (London: Elliot Stock, n.d.) Price 2s. 6d.
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“Saint” Gilbert: the Story of Gilbert White and Selborne. Nature 79, 339 (1909). https://doi.org/10.1038/079339c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/079339c0