Fabre, Poet of Science

An intimate portrait of Jean-Henri Fabre traces his development as a careful observer of nature, recounting his schoolmaster years, fieldwork in Corsica and Avignon, long retirement at his Harmas, and the material hardships that shaped his career. The author draws on letters, conversations, and manuscripts to explain Fabre's accessible methods, his investigations into insect instinct and the animal mind, and his perspective on evolution, while recounting evenings of shared reflection and the gradual composition of his major writings. The narrative blends personal recollection with clear exposition of scientific ideas and the modest life that produced them.