“A refined and engaging biography, as beautifully wrought, in its way, as Bewick’s woodcuts. . . . Its quiet, cumulative power is in describing the value of a lifetime of paying attention, of seeing what is all around us--and of approaching the world with a heart full of love and wonder."

Dominique Browning | New York Time

“This is a lovely book, not just in the quality and sympathy of the writing but in the care of its design and illustration."

Michael Prodger | Sunday Telegraph

“A splendid biography. But it becomes an endearing one by the scattered presence of so many of Bewick’s woodcuts.”

Washington Post

"[Bewick’s] work surprised peopple almost as much as it pleased them. Wordsworth was one of the first to praise it. Charlotte Bronte made Jane Eyre thrill to it. One of the charms of this beautifully produced biography is that it restores their original power to little works of art. . . . Uglow’s evocation of the mood of his times is as detailed and good as her portrait of the man."

The Economist

"[Bewick] was a fascinating human being whose life, told by the gifted biographer Jenny Uglow, in this beautifully illustrated little book, embodies the philosophical and political cross-currents of his times. . . . Uglow already has a justifiable reputation as one of the country’s best biographers; this fabulous book will only enhance it."

Paul Riddell | Scotsman

"In its rich detail and narrative structure--as pleasurable as one of Bewick’s vignrettes--this is popular biography at its best."

Anne Secord | Isis