Foxes Unearthedby Lucy Jones
Published by Elliott & Thompson
Non-fiction, natural history
As one of the largest predators left in Britain, the fox is captivating: a comfortably familiar figure in our country landscapes; and intriguing flash of bright-eyed wildness in our towns.
Yet no other animal attracts such controversy, has provoked more column inches or been so ambiguously woven into our culture over centuries, perceived variously as a beautiful animal, a cunning rogue, a vicious pest and a worthy foe. As well as being the most ubiquitous of wild animals, it is also the least understood.
In Foxes Unearthed Lucy Jones investigates the truth about foxes in a media landscape that often carries complex agendas. Delving into fact, fiction, folklore and her own family history, Lucy travels the length of Britain to find out first-hand why these animals incite such passionate emotions, revealing our rich and complex relationship with one of our most loved - and most vilified - wild animals. This compelling narrative adds much-needed depth to the debate on foxes, asking what our attitudes towards the red fox say about us - and, ultimately, about our relationship with the natural world.
"People both loathe and love the animal fiercely, and it stands apart from the rest of British wildlife because of its enemies and friends on both sides. The fox has never been a tabula rasa, but it has become more things to more people since attitudes towards animals shifted in the twentieth century."
Lucy Jones's concluding point sums up Foxes Unearthed perfectly. The British people and foxes have a complicated relationship, from the very beginning to the urban foxes nowadays. Easiest way to describe the relationship and history between them is passionate, whether it's passionate hate or love. Jones offers a valuable history here, and it's truly gorgeous because how dedicated Jones is to show both sides of the argument; there's chapters for historical and literacy point of view of foxes, as well as separate chapters for people who hunt foxes and think them as pest, and for those who fight to stop the fox hunting and care for foxes.
Fox has been vilified throughout history and not only in Britain. However, the topic has been highly debated and fierce for centuries because foxes are largest predator in Britain, since the wolves have been extinct since the eighteenth century (and even then, wolves mainly inhabited Scotland). I have a keen interest for wildlife natural history surrounding wolves and foxes. Last year I read The Last Wolf, and now I delved into the topic of foxes. Lucy Jones is engaging writer and the flow was smooth without loosing any credibility as Jones quotes her sources and there's extensive notes and bibliography included.
Foxes Unearthed offers an extensive insight to the story of love and loathing in modern Britain, and I highly recommend it to everyone who's interested in the topic.
4 of 5 stars
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