Tarka the Otter

TARKA THE OTTER was one of the books I did as part of my English Literature Teaching Course at University. Mum has recently given me special copy of this book a comemerative edition by the Folio Society in 2005. This edition was reprinted with a new forward by Paul Schofield - The text of this edition follows that of the 1964 Nonesuch Cygnet edition, which includes the author's final revisions.

I love this book as it talks of wildlife in Devonshire. This story starts when the author is watching a barn owl and spots an otter on the otherside of the river. He watches the otter and her three cubs over the next few months and years. Tarka was a wonderfully playful otter and she really looked after her cubs.There are lots of wonderful stories within the book of how Tarka came to accept the author feeding her by hand coming in and out of the water and in and around the cottage where he lived.

This is a fabulous book and its one I intend to read to my students in Vietnam. They will love the story and the illustrations in this special edition.This book took nearly four years to write in the village of Ham in Devon and illustrated by C F Tunnicliffeby the Taw and Torridge rivers in 1932.