Richard Mabey is the author of some forty books, including the bestselling Flora Britannica, Weeds and Nature Cure, which was short-listed for the Whitbread, Ondaatje and Ackerley awards. His biography Gilbert White won the Whitbread Biography Prize in 1986. He is a regular broadcaster on BBC radio, writes regularly for the Guardian, New Statesman and Granta, and has contributed a personal column to BBC Wildlife for the past 25 years. He is Patron of the John Clare Society, and Vice-President of the Open Spaces Society. He lives in Norfolk.
'Food for Free is a life-enhancing classic. That it is erudite and charming as well as practical and accurate is a testament to Richard Mabey's great gift as a biographer of our natural heritage. It remains the best possible antidote to the over-processed and the pre-packaged.' Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall 'The forager's bible continues to inspire and enthral.' Scottish Field 'Still a classic' Financial Times 'Armed with this guide, this month you could be sampling the simple pleasures of eating a fleshy Hottentot fig straight from a Devon clifftop, making elderflower fritters gathered from the hedgerows or frying fairy-ring champignons picked off your lawn. With its charming painted illustrations, it is a book to savour in itself.' Devon Life