A Greek Island Nature Diary

This lavish journal presents highly-detailed watercolors and accompanying pencil drawings of flora, fauna, and other natural objects observed and collected by the artist Jani Tully Chaplin during her years living on Corfu and sailing the Ionian Sea on her family’s ocean-going catamaran. Chaplin’s evocative diary is culled from her notes and sketches made in remote coves, in the thickets of the littoral, and in the thyme-scented mountains of the interior. The book also includes fascinating, informative, and practical descriptions of the medicinal, olfactory, and culinary uses of the wild plants found in this naturalist’s paradise. Beyond Chaplin’s personal observations, the text reveals surprising links between Ancient Greek civilization and modern medicine, with references to Greek mythology and folklore intermingled with quotations from poetry and prose associated with the plants.