Wanderers in the New Forest

Known as the ’grandmother of herbalism’, Juliette de Baïracli
Levy travelled throughout Europe and North America in
pursuit of her passion for herbs and holistic medicine, living
mostly in rural places whose nomadic communities helped
expand her knowledge of plants and living from the land.

In
the early 1950s, she settled in a thatched ’cabin’ in the New
Forest for three years and raised her children in the woods.
Originally published in 1958, Wanderers in the New
Forest describes an extraordinary family life living wild:
drawing spring water from Abbots Well, bathing in Windmill
Hill Pond and sharing the water with their animal neighbours,
foraging for fruits and fungi or tending to their forest garden
of herbs, flowers and vegetables.

Juliette’s friendships within
the local traveller community enabled her to record the impact
that post-war modernisation was having on their traditions,
ancient rights and intimate knowledge of the New Forest. This
new edition is illustrated throughout with photographs taken
by Juliette while living in the forest.

Juliette de Baïracli Levy (1912-2009) was born in Manchester and studied veterinary medicine but became disillusioned with the way these institutions treated animals. Instead she embarked on a journey around the world, living with nomads, Gypsies and peasant farmers, learning how to use plants for the treatment of animals. In the late 1930s, she returned to England and started a clinic in London that became well known for treating canine distemper. She wrote many influential books, including The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable and The Complete Herbal Book for the Dog and Cat.