Days and Nights on Hunter's Fen

David & Charles, Newton Abbot, Devon, 1992. Revised & Enlarged. Maroon Cloth. Near Fine/Near Fine. Illustrator: Paley, John & Murphy, Philip. Desolate, remote, yet full of the echoes of history, the East Anglian fens are a perfect habitat for today's wildfowler, wanderer and fisherman. They have a strange and wild history, for savage Vikings, monks, Romans, adventurers, dour Dutch drainers and a creeping race of mongrel Britons have all, in their time, navigated the slow, meandering rivers. Later, the Fenman was to wrest a precarious living from eels, fish, wildfowl, reed and peat cutting; from duck decoys, coprolite mines and herding bullocks, keeping at bay as best he might the ague and clouds of poisonous mosquitoes. The underlying theme was water, the ever present risk of floods, dykes, drains, washes, learns and cuts of his half-tamed waterland. The Fenman and his hostile terrain with its strange birds and beasts are inextricably linked. This is the story of the gunners and fishermen, of wild, bloodshot sunsets, waving reeds, of old yarns, floods, otters, puntgunners, hen harriers and the author's life spent with rod, gun and flat-bottomed boat among them. Out on the lonely fen waiting under a harvest moon for the mallard, the ghosts of the skaters, wild 'slodgers', holy men and drainers, not to mention the awesome, spectral hound Black Shuck, rustle and whisper restlessly in the reeds and there are echoes of wildfowl rising from an ancient mere with the sound of distant thunder. Evocative, richly informative and beautifully illustrated by John Paley and Philip Murphy, this book will delight all those fascinated by the more remote areas of our countryside - and by tales and recollections of times past."; an enlarged edition of this classic title, now with superb specially commissioned water-colour paintings; first published in 1986, & now brought back in response to popular demand; price-intact, protected D/J.; 192 pages. N.B. this is a thick & heavy book which, together with protective wrapping, takes its weight above the 1kg. standard quoted rate for post & packing so extra shipping charges will be requested. First Thus. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. 192 pages. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. in archive acetate film protection. Dust Jacket un-clipped. Gilt titles spine. illustrated by colour & b/w. drawings. Illustrator: Paley, John & Murphy, Philip. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Fishing & Hunting; The Fens; East Anglia; Sports & Pastimes; England; Farming & Rural Life. ISBN: 0715399942. ISBN/EAN: 9780715399941. Inventory No: 3640. . 9780715399941