Gavin Maxwell: A Life - Softcover

Botting, Douglas

4.18

34 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0586071091 ISBN 13: 9780586071090

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1994

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Gavin Maxwell, author of "Ring of Bright Water", was, in the words of "The Times", "a man of action who writes like a poet". Aristocrat, social renegade, wartime secret agent, shark-hunter, adventurer, racing driver, traveller, naturalist, poet and painter, Maxwell was also one of the most popular authors of wildlife books in the 20th century. It was the explorer Wilfred Thesiger who introduced Maxwell to otters when together they explored the Tigris Marshes of Iraq in 1956. His subsequent classic account of life with otters at his remote Highlands home brought him worldwide fame. This is a biography.

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Review:

'Totally absorbing, wonderfully written. David Attenborough; 'Here is a life woven from the stuff of high romance, a tragic and fascinating quest. Elspeth Barker, Independent; 'Could hardly be bettered Botting s great achievement is to have looked his friend square in the face, portraying his frailties while remaining loyal to his gifts. --Fraser Harrison, New Statesman

From the Back Cover:

'The life of the man who wrote 'Ring of Bright Water ''

The bestselling author of 'Ring of Bright Water' – his classic account of life with otters at his inaccessible Highlands wilderness by the sea – was, in the words of 'The Times', ' a man of action who writes like a poet'. Aristocrat, social renegade, wartime secret agent, shark-hunter, adventurer, racing driver, traveller, naturalist, poet and painter, Gavin Maxwell was also one of the most popular authors of wildlife books in the twentieth century.

Wonderfully written and very penetrating and understanding. What an extraordinary story!"
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH

"Here is a life woven from the stuff of high romance, a tragic and fascinating quest."
ELSPETH BARKER, 'Independent on Sunday' Books of the Year

"Compelling... a ripping yarn about a mercurial man told with the verve and romanticism it deserves."
JOHN MCEWEN, 'Sunday Telegraph'

"Could hardly be bettered... Botting's great achievement is to have looked his friend squarely in the face, portraying his frailties while remaining loyal to his gifts."
FRASER HARRISON, 'New Statesman'

"Botting's achievement is immense... much as Maxwell would have raged at his biographer's portrayal of his many flaws as well as his virtues, he would have approved of the book's honesty... Botting has unravelled then rewoven the extraordinary tapestry of Maxwell's life into a fond, frank and endlessly absorbing and moving book."
JIM CRUMLEY, 'Scotland on Sunday'

"Masterly... enthralling”
ANDRO LINKLATER, ' Spectator'

"Fascinating... a tour de force, meticulously researched and well written, for Botting's descriptive prose is in the same genre as Maxwell's and equally eloquent. This is a book that is difficult to put down."
PHILIP WAYRE, ' The Field'

"Excellent and thorough... a gripping story, told here by someone who knew him very well, yet can stand back far enough to see this extraordinary character as a whole."
DUFF HART-DAVIS, 'Mail on Sunday'

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