The Development of Natural History in Tudor England and The Growth of Natural History in Stuart England from Gerard to the Royal Society

$l 00 each (paperback). These two booklets are part of a series intended 'to encourage advanced research in history and literature' and also to help 'the non-specialist who wants to know more about the civilization of the Tudor and Stuart periods'. They follow the established, and sensible, format of the series, a more or less chronological survey of British publication during the periods described, with enough reference to continental developments to maintain a proper balance. The 'suggested reading' is adequate for the beginner, the monochrome plates are excellent and include the unusual as well as some chestnuts. There are irritations. The authors have a lofty tendency to depreciate most medieval and early modern books on natural history on the anachronistic grounds that they are not something they never set out to be, that is, textbooks of botany and zoology. The absence of information on scientific botany from the pages of Bartholomaeus Anglicus is no more surprising or significant than his apparent ignorance of space satellites. (Incidentally, how many of the profusion of modern books on biological subjects, intended for general use, are based on the first-hand observations and experiments of their authors?) Generally, however, the authors have achieved their aims in a readable and attractive form. The physical appearance of these little books reinforces a growing impression that, at their best, American university presses now have an edge over similar establishments in Britain in matters of design and production.