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Helen Macdonald

H is for Hawk (signed edition)

Name: H is for Hawk (signed edition)
SKU: HAWS
Price: 150 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock
Author: Helen Macdonald

£150

Illustrated By Chris Wormell

Introduced By the author

Wildness and wonder take flight in H is for Hawk. Helen Macdonald’s extraordinary nature memoir finds new wings in this beautiful Folio with powerful linocut illustrations by Chris Wormell. Vivid and heartfelt, it is a story of loss and healing, seen through the fierce eye of a goshawk. 100 copies of this Folio book have been signed by the author and the artist.

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Book Details

Production DetailsBound in textured paper printed and blocked with design by the artist
Plain slipcase
100 copies have been signed by Helen Macdonald and Chris Wormell

Dimensions8¾ inches x 6¼ inches

FontDesigned and typeset in Legitima

Pages352

AuthorHelen Macdonald

Illustrated ByChris Wormell

IllustrationColour linocut illustrations, including a binding design, endpaper motif, title-page illustration, integrated vignettes and full-page depictions of Mabel the goshawk.

Publication Date16/09/2025

PrintingFirst Printing

Editor's Notes

H is for Hawk is the story of Helen Macdonald’s training of a goshawk called Mabel, bought for £800 on a Scottish quayside in an attempt to cope with the grief of losing her father. She explains why she took this unusual step in her new introduction: ‘I couldn’t tame grief, but I knew I could tame a hawk.’

This is a distinctive book – a combination of nature writing, memoir and literary biography (the life of T. H. White – brilliant but troubled outsider, writer of Arthurian epics, and author of one of the great classics of natural history, The Goshawk – forms the third strand of the book). Its different elements are beautifully balanced, but at its heart is Mabel: beautiful and otherworldly, emerging from her carrying box like a ‘griffon from the pages of an illuminated bestiary’, and her relationship with the author who attempts to tame this wildest of creatures.

Chris Wormell’s linocut illustrations are integrated throughout, providing snapshots of the story. Renowned as a wood engraver and linocut artist, Wormell depicts Mabel with such vividness that you can almost feel the hawk’s presence.

Synopsis

When Helen Macdonald’s father died suddenly on a London street, she was devastated. An experienced falconer – captivated by hawks since childhood – she had never before been tempted to train one of the most vicious predators, the goshawk. But in her grief, she saw that the bird’s fierce and feral temperament mirrored her own. Resolving to purchase and raise the deadly creature as a means to cope with her loss, she adopted Mabel and turned to the guidance of T. H. White – author of The Once and Future King and The Goshawk – to begin her challenging endeavour. Projecting herself ‘in the hawk’s wild mind to tame her’ tested the limits of Macdonald’s humanity and changed her life.

About the Illustrator

Chris Wormell

Chris Wormell is a British illustrator and printmaker renowned for his linocut and wood engraving techniques. A self-taught artist, he has authored and illustrated numerous children’s books, including An Alphabet of Animals (1990) and George and the Dragon (2002). He illustrated the cover art for the trade edition of Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk (2014; Folio 2025). Wormell’s distinctive style combines traditional printmaking with digital methods, bringing a bold and atmospheric quality to his work. His illustrations have been featured in various campaigns, book covers and editorial pieces.

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About the Illustrator

Chris Wormell

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About the Illustrator

Chris Wormell

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About the Illustrator

Chris Wormell

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Chris Wormell

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About the Author

Helen Macdonald is a writer, naturalist and poet. In addition to the prize-winning international bestseller, H is for Hawk (2014; Folio 2025), Helen Macdonald's books include Vesper Flights (2020), a collection of essays about our relationship to the natural world, Falcon (2006), Shaler's Fish (2001) (a collection of poems) and Prophet (2023), a sci-fi thriller co-written in collaboration with Sin Blaché.

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H is for Hawk (signed edition)