Chasing the Ghost

Peter Marren is the unsung hero of Britain's nature writers. His luminous prose sheds light on the forgotten corners of Britain's natural heritage – our diverse and sometimes bizarre flora – and his quest to see every single species in the country. He is the perfect guide, leading us along the highways and byways, through wayside and woodland, as he tracks down some of our rarest and most fascinating plants. Delightful.

Stephen Moss, naturalist and author

Planting hunting here or abroad has always pulled in great enthusiasts. In Marren’s case it is a quiet enthusiasm, not academic, but companionable and intimate. He delivers easily all kinds of fascinating thoughts and information about the natural world… There is philosophy too. He understands that no ecosystem has a perfect moment to which it ought always to be restored. Environments change for better and worse, populations of plants and animals wax and wane. Ecology is flux. And does he find the ghost orchid? Well, he’s philosophical about that.

The Times

Peter Marren writes with such knowledge and affection for plants, and in such a modest and winning manner that few could help wanting to be a plant spotter in this image... If you already have the botany bug then you’ll want to read this book, and to own it so that you can dip into it in future years, but even for the confirmed non-botanist like myself, this is a very good read and one which makes me slightly uneasy about how much I have been missing by looking up rather than down and how blinkered is my view of the natural world.

Dr Mark Avery

A poignant reminder to us all to engage with the wild flower that grow around us

i Newspaper

Wonderful... This book would appeal to anyone with an enthusiasm for wildflowers or an interest in the history of natural history

Hannah Gardner, Gardens Illustrated

Jolly, quixotic and ends with real poignancy

Patrick Barkham, Guardian, **Books of the Year**

This is superlative natural history storytelling – a joyful and unexpectedly moving celebration of overlooked beauty. Marren’s mission is wry, entertaining and deeply moral too, for he shows how these precious flowers will only endure if someone loves them

Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles

Peter Marren’s charming, up hill and down dale odyssey to seek out Britain’s rarest wild flowers is made truly memorable by his astounding botanical knowledge, so comprehensive and yet so lightly-worn

Michael McCarthy, author of The Moth Snowstorm