{"title":"Fiona Stafford","description":"\u003cp\u003eFiona Stafford’s works explore the intricate relationship between humanity and the natural world, blending literary insight with scientific observation. Readers can expect deeply thoughtful reflections on nature, alongside rich, nuanced examinations of historical lives and cultural moments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHer writing is marked by a graceful balance of biography and natural history, offering a contemplative journey through time and the changing environment. Ideal for those drawn to both \u003cem\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Memoir\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eScience \u0026amp; Nature\u003c\/em\u003e, Stafford’s books invite a closer look at how we inhabit the world around us.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-long-long-life-of-trees-by-fiona-stafford-9780300228205","title":"The Long, Long Life of Trees","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Long, Long Life of Trees\u003c\/em\u003e is a lyrical tribute to the diversity of trees, their physical beauty, their special characteristics and uses, and their ever-evolving meanings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSince the beginnings of history, trees have served humankind in countless useful ways. However, our relationship with trees has many dimensions beyond mere practicality. Trees are so entwined with human experience that diverse species have inspired their own stories, myths, songs, poems, paintings, and spiritual meanings. Some have achieved status as religious, cultural, or national symbols.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this beautifully illustrated volume, Fiona Stafford offers intimate, detailed explorations of seventeen common trees, from ash and apple to pine, oak, cypress, and willow. The author also pays homage to particular trees, such as the fabled Ankerwyke Yew—under which Henry VIII courted Anne Boleyn—and the spectacular cherry trees of Washington, D.C.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStafford discusses the practical uses of wood past and present, tree diseases and environmental threats, and trees’ potential contributions toward slowing global climate change. Brimming with unusual topics and intriguing facts, this book celebrates trees and their long, long lives as our inspiring and beloved natural companions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46855025787116,"sku":"9780300228205","price":28.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780300228205.jpg?v=1759261404"},{"product_id":"time-and-tide-by-fiona-stafford-9781473686342","title":"Time and Tide","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Poetic and profound, \u003ci\u003eTime and Tide\u003c\/i\u003e is wise, considered and full of surprises'\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Poignant and touching'\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Miraculous'\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ci\u003eScotsman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA village waits at the bottom of a reservoir. A monkey puzzle tree bristles in a suburban garden. A skein of wild geese fly over a rusty rail viaduct. The vast inland sea that awed John Clare has become fields.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eChapter by fascinating chapter, alive with literary, local, and her own family history, Fiona Stafford reveals the forces, both natural and human, which transform places. Swooping along coastlines, through forests and across fens, following in the footsteps of Burns and Keats, Celia Fiennes and Charles Dickens, William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Noel Coward and Compton Mackenzie, join her, time-travelling deep into the stories of our Isles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom red squirrels to brick vistas, from botanical gardens to hot springs, the landscapes of Britain are full of delights and surprises. Chance discoveries of rare species, shipwrecks and unlikely ruins, curious trees and startling towers, weird caves and disused airfields, or even just baffling placenames offer ways into unexpected histories and hidden lives. The clues to the past are all round us - \u003ci\u003eTime and Tide\u003c\/i\u003e will help you find them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Shot through with tender delights and unexpected revelations'\u003c\/strong\u003e RICHARD HOLMES\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Wonderful... A fascinating compendium of people and places'\u003c\/strong\u003e PHILIP MARSDEN\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46855332823276,"sku":"9781473686342","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781473686342.jpg?v=1759266711"},{"product_id":"jane-austen-by-fiona-stafford-9780300232219","title":"Jane Austen","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn elegant and accessible introduction to the life and works of one of England's greatest and most popular novelists.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"I want to salute Fiona Stafford's brilliant [book]. . . . It tells one all one needs to know about Jane Austen, and, best of all, leaves one wanting to read the novels once more, and better.\"—Jane Aiken Hodge\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery devoted reader feels that, in some way, they know Jane Austen. But how can we make sense of her extraordinary achievements? At a time when most women received so little formal education and none could obtain a place at university, how did Austen come to write novels that have commanded the attention of some of the most brilliant minds ever since? Why were hers the books that Darwin knew by heart and Churchill read during the Blitz?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this graceful introduction to the author’s life and works, Fiona Stafford offers a fresh and accessible perspective, discussing Austen’s six astonishing novels in the context of their time. Newly updated, \u003cem\u003eJane Austen: A Brief Life\u003c\/em\u003e offers a rich and sympathetic insight into a writer who was just as much the Romantic genius as Keats, Shelley or Byron—full of youthful exuberance, intensely creative once she had found her individual voice, and dead before she reached middle age.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47558943146220,"sku":"9780300232219","price":23.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780300232219-jane-austen.jpg?v=1776923267"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/fiona-stafford.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}