Elizabeth Gwillim (1763–1807) and her sister Mary Symonds (1772–1854) produced over two hundred watercolours depicting birds, fish, flowers, people, and landscapes around Madras (now Chennai). The sisters’ detailed letters fill four large volumes in the British Library; their artwork is in the Blacker Wood Natural History Collection of McGill University Library in Canada and in the South Asia Collection in Britain. The first book about their work and lives, Women, Environment, and Networks of Empire asks what these materials reveal about nature, society, and environment in early nineteenth-century South India. Gwillim and Symonds left for India in 1801, following the appointment of Elizabeth’s husband, Henry Gwillim, to the Supreme Court of Madras. Their paintings document, on one hand, the rapidly expanding colonial city of Madras and its population and, on the other, the natural environment and wildlife of the city. Gwillim’s paintings of birds are remarkable for their detail, naturalism, and accuracy. In their studies of natural history, Gwillim and Symonds relied on the expertise of Indian bird-catchers, fishermen, physicians, artists, and translators, contributing to a unique intersection of European and Asian natural knowledge. The sisters’ extensive correspondence demonstrates how women shaped networks of trade and scholarship through exchanges of plants, books, textiles, and foods. In Women, Environment, and Networks of Empire an interdisciplinary group of scholars use the paintings and writings of Elizabeth Gwillim and Mary Symonds to explore natural history, the changing environment, colonialism, and women’s lives at the turn of the nineteenth century.

Rabbit is the story of the winsome long-eared animal that hops through children's stories, myths and legends, and back yards. In this richly illustrated book, Victoria Dickenson explores the natural and cultural history of this most familiar creature. From the giant extinct rabbits of Minorca to the tiny endangered Volcano rabbits of Mexico, the book explores the history of the species, with a special focus on the European rabbit, whose history has been so closely intertwined with that of its greatest predator, humanity. Celebrated for its fur and its flesh, the rabbit owes its worldwide distribution to human intervention. Captain Cook took rabbits to New Zealand to provide food for sailors and settlers. Their introduction in the late nineteenth century to Australia resulted in a disastrous plague of rabbits, which could only be brought under control by the introduction of myxomatosis. The rabbit is a paradox. It is prey, chased by a thousand enemies from eagles to foxes to domestic cats. But it is also trickster, who outwits all rivals, and escapes every trap. The rabbit is lucky, and his foot will charm away evil. It haunts the graveyard and dances in the moonlight. The rabbit is suitable as a cuddly companion for children but also as a symbol of unbridled animal passion. From Peter Rabbit to B'rer Rabbit to Watership Down and the Energizer Bunny, rabbits hop through our imagination. Discover the Jade Moon rabbit, celebrate the Year of the Rabbit and enjoy the poetry of rabbits in this fascinating study of an animal that, after the dog and cat, has been granted a privileged place in our homes and our hearts.

From swimming alongside our kayaks, canoes, coracles and boats to lurking alone in the shadowy waters of remote seas, seals have long interacted with humans and played a part in our history. Seal by Victoria Dickenson explores the natural and cultural history of an animal that has piqued and delighted human interest since ancient times, from their role in Roman spectacles to their frequent inhabitation of animal rescue centers today.Seals, sea lions, fur seals and walruses are so distinctive that biologists have classified them as members of a single order, the Pinnipedia, yet our relationship with each distinctive seal species varies. We have for centuries hunted some seals for their skin, oil and meat. In the twentieth- and twenty-first century the hunt has become a focus for global protest, and the white-furred baby seal has evolved into one of the most powerful symbols for animal welfare. Some species, like the Mediterranean monk seal, are among the most endangered mammals in the world. Others, who live far from human habitation, number in the millions.The seals living closer to our societies have become wrapped in our myths and legends: there are tales of seals who have sought out human society, following the sound of children's voices, or the music of the pipe and flute; and there are darker stories of selkies and other seal-like creatures that take on human shape for purposes of both good and ill. Richly illustrated and accessibly written, Seal offers an immersive view of a much-loved, storied creature.

Fifty years ago, Canada celebrated its hundredth anniversary of Confederation. At Expo 67, in communities across the country, we celebrated our coming of age as a modern, bilingual, bicultural nation-a place where anyone from any culture could thrive. But beneath the applause and the cheerful music was a darker note. In his public address at the festivities, Chief Dan George lamented what Canada's centennial did not celebrate: the colonization and marginalization of Indigenous peoples who lived on these "good lands." Now in the year of Canada's 150th birthday, we honour a new understanding of our past. We have begun-at long last-to share in a process of national reconciliation and to come together to reimagine our contribution to a global future. Artists give form and meaning to both the land and the invisible landscape of the spirit, both the past and the future. The works of Canada's artists-both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, historical and contemporary-invite us to see our country and our place within it with new eyes. This book celebrates their visions, as well as the good lands we have shared and shaped for millennia that, in turn, have shaped us.