The Purple Land

A South American "Western", set in a period of revolutionary turmoil, penned by a son of U.S. immigrants, later living in England, and reflecting with great affection the Patagonia of his younger life. W.H. Hudson wrote the famous romantic novel Green Mansions and many other works of fiction and non-fiction centering on ornithology and nature as a whole. He remains a well-loved figure in Argentina to this day.

W. H. Hudson was a British biologist, ornithologist, and author who lived from 1841 to 1922. Hudson, who was born in Argentina to British parents, spent a large portion of his youth travelling and learning about the flora and animals of South America. In his early twenties, he came to England and took a job as a clerk. Despite this, he continued to write about nature and in 1892, "The Naturalist in La Plata," his first book, was published. After that, Hudson published numerous other books about the natural environment, including "British Birds" and "Idle Days in Patagonia." He is most well-known, however, for his books, including "Green Mansions" and "The Purple Land," which merged his love of the outdoors with his prowess as a writer. The grandeur and mystique of the wilderness were beautifully and evocatively captured in Hudson's writing, which was praised for its in-depth and evocative depictions of the natural environment. He was also a forerunner in the conservation movement and a proponent of preserving endangered species' habitats.