Review taken from BBC Wildlife magazine for January 2010:

A beautiful testament to the influence of a legendary poet on a modern-day artist.

   Keen-eyed readers will have spotted that the missing apostrophe in this book’s title is not a mistake, but a quote from the celebrated poet John Clare. The book’s subtitle — Landscape Change, John Clare and Me — will remove any doubt.

  However, this is not a dry academic treatise, but a marvellous collection of prints and paintings from one of our most extraordinary nature artists, Carry Akroyd. Every page holds new delights, from the miniature — a view looking down at banded demoiselles over rippling water — to the grand, as in the doublepage spread Vermuydens Drain, a picture that leaps off the page and demands your attention.

  Admittedly, fans of the hyper-naturalistic style favoured by many modern nature artists may be disappointed. But those who appreciate Akroyd’s unique view of our world will revel in this book’s delights. Paradoxically, considering her ‘unrealistic’ style, I find that she captures the truth of a natural scene as well as anyone.

  In many art books the text is merely a bolt-on extra, but not here. Akroyd has written a perceptive essay on what Clare’s writing means to her, and how she has strived to approach her subject in the same way as he did. Though their chosen mediums are so different, they both employ a deceptively simple style to convey the complexity of a landscape and its wildlife.

  Langford Press has done another fine job with the books production, making me wonder why some other publishers seem unable to match their high standards.
  This is, above all, a beautiful object and a fine showcase for such an original talent.

Verdict *****

Stephen Moss

 BBCtv producer, birder and author

"A great addition to the Coffee table" - BTO Book Reviews