Tarka the Otter

First published in 1927, this novel follows the life of Tarka, an otter born in a holt on a West Country river system, through seasons of hunting, mating, and flight. Williamson describes the Taw and Torridge country in close natural detail: fish, birds, weather, and the human trades of the valley. Tarka's principal enemy is the hound Deadlock and the otter hunt that works the waterways. The narrative stays near the animal's senses rather than giving him human speech. It is a life-cycle story of a wild predator in a hunted landscape, not a children's fable with a moral tagged on.

Bound in green cloth, cover-label with the frontispiece repeated, gilt titling on cover and spine. Map endleaves printed black on dark green. Green slipcase printed in black with a wrap-around picture.