This is a good summery book about arguably our most spectacular of butterflies, the Purple Emperor. The author is an expert on this species and an unrestrained and unrestrainable enthusiast for this butterfly. And that makes this a very good book, packed with stories, anecdotes, history but also with good solid facts. And all wrapped up in love for the species.
The place I go to see Purple Emperors almost every year is Fermyn Wood in east Northamptonshire. It’s close to my home and many a time I have seen the target species within a very few minutes of getting out of the car. I learn that it is one of only four or five genuinely strong colonies of the species in England. And I was interested to read of Matthew’s view on the role of the author ‘BB’ in supporting this population back in the 1970s. And further interested to learn that Matthew Oates was being read BB’s Bredon Hill at around the time that I was reading it too, and that it made a big impression on us both.
And that is the type of book this is, it’s about a single butterfly species but it’s about all butterflies, and the places they live, and the other wildlife and the people that are involved in their ups and downs. You could read this book with great pleasure even if you aren’t that fussed about this butterfly, because the author is so enthusiastic and writes so well.
Which birds do you think are a problem for Purple Emperors? I was interested to find out.
There is quite a lot about the Purple Emperors of Knepp and that remarkable story is told well.
The cover artwork by Darren Woodhead is very attractive. There are quite a few colour photographs of the various life-cycle stages; most of these are either from Knepp or from Fermyn Woods. The geographical appendix is fact-packed but readable, the glossary works well and the references and further reading look very good to me.
But it’s the easy style and good humour that takes one through the book so easily. I recommend this book to all.
His Imperial Majesty: a natural history of the purple emperor by Matthew Oates is published by Bloomsbury on 11 June.
Remarkable Birds by Mark Avery is published by Thames and Hudson – for reviews see here.
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I remember in the late 1990s a Purple Emperor actually landed on the axe I was using to chop up dead squirrels for kites. The release pen was hidden in the woods. Having read his previous books I’ll definitely be reading this one. He has a real knack for storytelling.