Sara George 2002 314 pages A5 hardback (G110) An enchanting story gently revealing the character and work of Francois Huber, against the backdrop of his family and everyday life in the 18th century. Francois Huber was a Swiss beekeeper and scientist who made careful and original observations of bees - inventing a 'leaf hive' (60 years before Langstroth) so that he could observe the bees on their combs. He observed and documented for the first time for science that queens mate outside the hive, that it is the old queen that leaves with a swarm, how wax is produced by workers and used by them for comb construction, and many other facts of honeybee behaviour. Yet Francois Huber was blind, and his manservant, the humble and sub-serviant Francis Burnens in fact made all the careful observations. This book tells the story from the perspective of Burnens. An excellent idea for a novel, expertly told by Sara George, and especially interesting for beekeepers. Order will be dispatched within 4-6 weeks.