First Published:
Santa Barbara, CA, Capra Press, 1973
Reprinted: as
No. 5 in the Yes! Capra Chapbook Series, 1975. 27pp.
This
essay, which originally appeared in the Paris edition of the
New York Herald Tribune and in Midi Libre, is Durrell's biographical
tribute to Ludo Chardenon, the Plant Magic Man of Arles. An expert
on the fauna of Provence, Chardenon's own personal history is
presented by Durrell in a charming essay, beautifully bound and
illustrated with wood-cuts. A comparatively insignificant part
of the Durrell canon, perhaps, The Plant Magic Man remains
a personal favourite of mine, and a fascinating aside by Durrell
on the culture and life of the France which he loved and made
his home.
This
essay, which originally appeared in the Paris edition of the
New York Herald Tribune and in Midi Libre, is Durrell's biographical
tribute to Ludo Chardenon, the Plant Magic Man of Arles. An expert
on the fauna of Provence, Chardenon's own personal history is
presented by Durrell in a charming essay, beautifully bound and
illustrated with wood-cuts. A comparatively insignificant part
of the Durrell canon, perhaps, The Plant Magic Man remains
a personal favourite of mine, and a fascinating aside by Durrell
on the culture and life of the France which he loved and made
his home.