Peter Ayres was taught by, or worked with, several of Tansley's closest friends. He was for seven years Executive Editor of the New Phytologist, the journal founded by Tansley. After a career teaching plant physiology and pathology at Lancaster University, his interest in the history of plant sciences has led him to write Harry Marshall Ward and the Fungal Thread of Death and The Aliveness of Plants: The Darwins at the Dawn of Plant Science.

“In conclusion, this book is well written and it is easy to locate specific information on Tansley and the broader contexts of his work throughout the book.”  (The British Journal for the History of Science, 1 June 2014)“Ayres’s book shows how one man was able to create whole climates of opinion as well as a new discipline; it is warmly recommended.”  (Archives of Natural history, 1 August 2013)“Despite hints of Tansley’s personal complexity, we are left with an appreciation of his remarkable professional legacy that continues to foster scientific alliances and conservation of nature. ”  (Ecology, 1 April 2013)“To all of us who cherish such wild places in modern Britain, as this book reveals, we owe Tansley a great debt.”  (The Biologist, 1 June 2013)“A valuable acquisition for institutions with programs in ecology, botany, environmental sciences, or history of science.  Summing Up: Highly recommended.  Academic and general readers, all levels.”  (Choice, 1 March 2013)“It is directed at ecologists, but it is a straightforward biography and, as such, deserves to be widely read.”  (Journal of Insect Conservervation, 8 July 2012)

• List of Figures vi Foreword viiiPreface and Acknowledgements x1 Kingley Vale: Worth Fighting For 12 The Origins of Ecology 153 George Tansley, Christian Socialism, and the Working Men's College 204 Highgate School, University College, London, and Trinity College, Cambridge 385 Teaching at University College, the Chicks, and Marriage to Edith 486 Seashores and Woodlands: Looking for Patterns 607 The Managing Director of British Ecology 808 Disillusion and Disaffection 1019 The Oxford Years, 1927-1937 12210 The Magnum Opus, Grantchester, and Retirement 14411 The Years of Fulfilment, 1937-1953 15512 A Detached Liberal Philosopher and Free-thinker 179References 198Index 206

Peter Ayres was taught by, or worked with, several of Tansley's closest friends. He was for seven years Executive Editor of the New Phytologist, the journal founded by Tansley. After a career teaching plant physiology and pathology at Lancaster University, his interest in the history of plant sciences has led him to write Harry Marshall Ward and the Fungal Thread of Death and The Aliveness of Plants: The Darwins at the Dawn of Plant Science.

“In conclusion, this book is well written and it is easy to locate specific information on Tansley and the broader contexts of his work throughout the book.”  (The British Journal for the History of Science, 1 June 2014)“Ayres’s book shows how one man was able to create whole climates of opinion as well as a new discipline; it is warmly recommended.”  (Archives of Natural history, 1 August 2013)“Despite hints of Tansley’s personal complexity, we are left with an appreciation of his remarkable professional legacy that continues to foster scientific alliances and conservation of nature. ”  (Ecology, 1 April 2013)“To all of us who cherish such wild places in modern Britain, as this book reveals, we owe Tansley a great debt.”  (The Biologist, 1 June 2013)“A valuable acquisition for institutions with programs in ecology, botany, environmental sciences, or history of science.  Summing Up: Highly recommended.  Academic and general readers, all levels.”  (Choice, 1 March 2013)“It is directed at ecologists, but it is a straightforward biography and, as such, deserves to be widely read.”  (Journal of Insect Conservervation, 8 July 2012)

• List of Figures vi Foreword viiiPreface and Acknowledgements x1 Kingley Vale: Worth Fighting For 12 The Origins of Ecology 153 George Tansley, Christian Socialism, and the Working Men's College 204 Highgate School, University College, London, and Trinity College, Cambridge 385 Teaching at University College, the Chicks, and Marriage to Edith 486 Seashores and Woodlands: Looking for Patterns 607 The Managing Director of British Ecology 808 Disillusion and Disaffection 1019 The Oxford Years, 1927-1937 12210 The Magnum Opus, Grantchester, and Retirement 14411 The Years of Fulfilment, 1937-1953 15512 A Detached Liberal Philosopher and Free-thinker 179References 198Index 206

Peter Ayres was taught by, or worked with, several of Tansley's closest friends. He was for seven years Executive Editor of the New Phytologist, the journal founded by Tansley. After a career teaching plant physiology and pathology at Lancaster University, his interest in the history of plant sciences has led him to write Harry Marshall Ward and the Fungal Thread of Death and The Aliveness of Plants: The Darwins at the Dawn of Plant Science.

“In conclusion, this book is well written and it is easy to locate specific information on Tansley and the broader contexts of his work throughout the book.”  (The British Journal for the History of Science, 1 June 2014)“Ayres’s book shows how one man was able to create whole climates of opinion as well as a new discipline; it is warmly recommended.”  (Archives of Natural history, 1 August 2013)“Despite hints of Tansley’s personal complexity, we are left with an appreciation of his remarkable professional legacy that continues to foster scientific alliances and conservation of nature. ”  (Ecology, 1 April 2013)“To all of us who cherish such wild places in modern Britain, as this book reveals, we owe Tansley a great debt.”  (The Biologist, 1 June 2013)“A valuable acquisition for institutions with programs in ecology, botany, environmental sciences, or history of science.  Summing Up: Highly recommended.  Academic and general readers, all levels.”  (Choice, 1 March 2013)“It is directed at ecologists, but it is a straightforward biography and, as such, deserves to be widely read.”  (Journal of Insect Conservervation, 8 July 2012)

• List of Figures vi Foreword viiiPreface and Acknowledgements x1 Kingley Vale: Worth Fighting For 12 The Origins of Ecology 153 George Tansley, Christian Socialism, and the Working Men's College 204 Highgate School, University College, London, and Trinity College, Cambridge 385 Teaching at University College, the Chicks, and Marriage to Edith 486 Seashores and Woodlands: Looking for Patterns 607 The Managing Director of British Ecology 808 Disillusion and Disaffection 1019 The Oxford Years, 1927-1937 12210 The Magnum Opus, Grantchester, and Retirement 14411 The Years of Fulfilment, 1937-1953 15512 A Detached Liberal Philosopher and Free-thinker 179References 198Index 206