Rainbow Dust

Three Centuries of Delight in British Butterflies

Peter Marren

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A uniquely personal book about butterflies and about the people who love them – which, surely, is most of us

Much more than just another field guide or a natural history of butterflies Rainbow Dust explores the ways in which butterflies delight and inspire us all, naturalists and non-naturalists alike.

Beginning with the author's own experience of hunting and rearing butterflies as a boy, Peter Marren considers the special place of the butterfly in art, literature, advertising and science, and, latterly, our attempts to conserve them.

Rainbow Dust takes in the controversy over collecting, the women who studied them and the curious details that lead to butterflies being feared as well as loved. This is a celebration of butterflies; one shot through with a sense of wonder but also of sorrow at what we are losing.

Published: 30 July 2015
ISBN: 9781448190195
Imprint: Vintage Digital
Format: EBook
Pages: 320

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About the author

Peter Marren

Peter Marren is a wildlife writer, journalist and authority on invertebrate folklore and names. His books include the bestselling Rainbow Dust; The New Naturalists, which won the Society for the History of Natural History’s Thackray Medal; and Britain’s Rare Flowers, which won the Botanical Society of the British Isles’ Presidents’ Award. Peter also won a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for his work on Bugs Britannica.

Also by Peter Marren

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Praise for Rainbow Dust

A scholarly and captivating excursion into the history of natural history, further enlivened by vivid portraits of some of the butterfly enthusiasts of the past
Michael McCarthy, Independent

Never again will this reader, at least, take a butterfly for granted… Beautifully written and thoroughly researched, Rainbow Dust is a truly marvellous book
Sophia Waugh, 5 stars, Telegraph

In Peter Marren Britain’s butterflies have found their champion. Is Rainbow Dust worth a flutter? Oh, absolutely
John Lewis-Stempel, The Times

[A] superbly distilled statement on our national obsession with butterflies
Mark Cocker, Spectator

Whether you know a lot or a little about butterflies, this is an essential read
Peter Forbes, Independant

A thoroughly researched and passionate celebration of fragile butterflies
Mail on Sunday

A celebration of the role that butterflies play in our imagination and cultural lives, examining our enduring fascination for a group of invertebrates that has inspired artists and writers
Matt Swaine, 4 stars, BBC Focus

beautifully written... whatever you think you know about butterflies, prepare to be surprised and delighted
Brett Westwood, BBC Wildlife

Marren unearths a fascinating tale […] his book is stunning: as stunning as the first Red Admiral on a June morning
Michael McCarthy, Resurgence & Ecologist

Riveting. The most important book written about butterflies and their past and current status and their demise. The author is to be congratulated and my thanks to him for so many important memories
Ray Collier, Highland News Group