as The Peregrine, it enjoys much the same reputation for literary beauty and naturalist precision. In 2011, Collins published a new edition of The Peregrine which also included The Hill of Summer and extracts from his diaries. The book includes an introduction by Mark Cocker and notes by John Fanshawe. Prior to this book, little was known about Baker's personal life but this has now changed. He was born on 6 August 1926, to engineering draughtsman Wilfred and his wife Pansy Baker, and lived in Chelmsford. His secondary education was at King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford. His books are based largely on his observations of birds in the Essex countryside especially in the area from Chelmsford to the coast. He was unable to drive (despite working for The Automobile Association) and travelled by bicycle. From around 1970 he suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis and contracted cancer as a result of the drugs taken to alleviate the arthritis. He died on 26 December 1987. Chelmsford City Council has put a Blue Plaque at the entrance to the block of flats in Stansted Close, Chelmsford, where J A Baker lived when writing The Peregrine. The full citation and a biography of Baker is on the Council’s website. The University of Essex holds items associated with Baker. These include his diaries, drafts of his books, corrected proofs, correspondence and his optical equipment used when birdwatching. The archive was catalogued in 2016 by Hetty Saunders and is now open to all those interested in Baker's life and work. In October 2017 Little Toller Books published the first biography of Baker, entitled My House of Sky – The life and work of J. A. Baker'' by Hetty Saunders. In addition to the biography, the book includes a selection of Baker's poetry, an article about the J. A. Baker Archive by John Fanshawe, with photographs of some of the items, and a section of photographs of Baker Country taken by local photographer, Christopher Matthews. The preface to the book is by Robert Macfarlane. References External links The life and works of J. A. Baker English male non-fiction writers 1987 deaths 1926 births Place of birth missing People from Chelmsford People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford English nature writers 20th-century English male writers