I was delighted recently when a friend of mine surprised me with a present she had found in a second-hand bookshop. It was a nature diary, published in 1979, entitled ‘Janet Marsh’s Nature Diary’. In this blog post, I’ll share with you some thoughts on this remarkable work of art and love, created by the gifted artist and naturalist, Janet Marsh. Janet has managed to capture the essence of the Itchen Valley’s abundant natural life in exquisitely detailed watercolour paintings, accompanied with her written accounts of her life and experience of nature at that moment in time, in that particular place. A place that was under threat from advancing roads and the seeming ambivalence of many humans to nature.
A Chronicle of an Endangered River
The book takes us on a remarkable journey as the author follows a year in the life of a Hampshire river. This captivating narrative earns the book well-deserved acclaim, as it intricately records all types of life along the river. At the time, this pristine environment faced a significant threat from a motorway extension, highlighting the delicate balance between human progress and the preservation of natural habitats. This diary becomes a poignant reminder of the ever-present tension between development and conservation.
Rediscovering Nature through Janet Marsh’s Eyes
The heart of the book lies in the meticulous and inspiring way in which Janet Marsh recorded her observations and illustrations. Her dedication to capturing every detail of the flora and fauna in the Itchen Valley is nothing short of remarkable. Janet’s drawings and painting have a delicate nature and many pages have a combination of pencil sketches and more complete watercolour paintings. It’s quite enchanting to read the diary entries and find small creatures recorded at the edges of the text. Marsh’s diary inspires us to become more thoughtful and careful observers of the world around us. In an age where many of us rush through our daily lives, it reminds us to take a step back and embrace the wonder of nature.
A Journey to Another Time
The book is not just a collection of observations; it’s also a record of how a naturalist at that time had to work. The author describes how she saw a butterfly on the floor of her kitchen and had to get down, with her paint box, to paint it before it flew away. I puzzled over this for a short while, before realising that it was unusual at that time for people to take photos for anything other than special occasions. They certainly weren’t blessed with the convenience of having a mobile phone in their pocket, with which they could capture a photo digitally at a moment’s notice. Naturalists today can record interesting specimens with ease, but in the 1970’s, if you wanted to record it, you had to draw it or keep it until you could draw it. In another entry, the author keeps an interesting beetle until she can draw it, feeding it fruit, meat and water, to keep it alive. She never gets the time to draw it and has to let it go, but she does identify the specimen as a Devil’s coach horse beetle. Of course, not with a quick look on the internet, as that didn’t exist, but using her insect identification book.
Where to find the book now?
If you’d like to enjoy this book yourself then it’s available in second-hand book marketplaces such as Amazon or Awesome Books. There were more editions published in the 1980’s, but the copy I have was published in 1979 by Book Club Associates by arrangement with Michael Joseph Ltd. You could also enjoy looking for the book in the second-hand bookshops in your area. You never know, you may find another treasure of a book on the way! My favourite part of the book has to be the map in the front. I’m a sucker for a hand-drawn map and this one is just beautiful!
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