Natural History, reflected

Managed a couple of miles with the spaniel this morning and, if there are no ill effects, hope to be back to normal tomorrow. In the meantime I've been reading Andrea Barrett's latest collection of short stories. I've read all her novels and short story collections (they are mostly about 19th and early 20th century scientists) over the past thirty years. Natural History was published in September last year and still isn't available in the UK. Knowing of my obsession, Mrs L ordered me a copy from the US for my birthday. The order was lost and then cancelled by Amazon but eventually turned up on our doorstep in mid December. By then we'd moved house but fortunately the new owners sent it on to us. I can't recommend her work too highly, meticulously researched and beautifully written, I'd start with the 1998 novel The Voyage of the Narwhal or the 1996 short story collection Ship Fever.