---
title: "Nature writing"
chunk: 1/2
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_writing"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:46:54.821129+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Nature writing is nonfiction or fiction prose about the natural environment. It often draws heavily from scientific information and facts while also incorporating philosophical reflection upon various aspects of nature. Works are frequently written in the first person and include personal observations.
Nature writing encompasses a wide variety of works, ranging from those that place primary emphasis on natural history (such as field guides) to those focusing on philosophical interpretation. It includes poetry, essays of solitude or escape, as well as travel and adventure writing.
Modern-day nature writing traces its roots to works of natural history that initially gained popularity in the second half of the 18th century, and continued to do so throughout the 19th century. An important early figure in nature writing was the parson-naturalist Gilbert White (1720–1793), a pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist. He is best known for writing Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne (1789).
William Bartram (1739–1823) was another significant American pioneer naturalist who became a respected figure in literary and scientific communities after his first work was published in 1791.

== Early history ==
The tradition of clerical naturalists can be traced back to the monastic writings of the Middle Ages, although under modern-day definitions, these writings about animals and plants cannot be correctly classified as natural history. Notable early parson-naturalists were William Turner (1508–1568), John Ray (1627–1705) and William Derham (1657–1735).
Gilbert White was an English ecologist, who expressed encouragement towards an increased respect for nature. He said of the earthworm: "Earthworms, though in appearance a small and despicable link in the chain of nature, yet, if lost, would make a lamentable chasm. [...] worms seem to be the great promoters of vegetation, which would proceed but lamely without them." Along with naturalist William Markwick, White collected records of the dates of emergence of more than 400 plant and animal species in Hampshire and Sussex between 1768 and 1793. Their findings were summarized in The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, in which they recorded the earliest and latest dates for each event over a 25-year period. The data recorded by White and Markwick are among the earliest examples of modern phenology.
American botanist, natural historian, and explorer William Bartram traveled extensively in the Americas throughout the late 1700s, observing the native flora and fauna; his work, now known as Bartram's Travels, was published in 1791. Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton Davis, in their book, Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, name Bartram as "the first naturalist who penetrated the dense tropical forests of Florida."
Another early illustrated work of nature writing was A History of British Birds by Thomas Bewick, published in two volumes. Volume 1, "Land Birds", appeared in 1797. Volume 2, "Water Birds", appeared in 1804. The book was considered to be the first "field guide" for non-specialists. Bewick provided an accurate illustration of each species, listed the common and scientific name(s) and cited the naming authorities. Each bird is described with its distribution and behavior, often with extensive quotations from external sources or correspondents. Critics noted Bewick's skill as a naturalist as well as an engraver.
Throughout the 19th century, works of nature writing included those of American ornithologist John James Audubon (1785–1851), Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913). Additional authors who published modern works include English author Richard Jefferies (1848-1887), American authors Susan Fenimore Cooper(1813–1894) and Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862). Other significant writers in the genre include Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803–1882), John Burroughs (1837–1931) and John Muir (1838–1914).