Tarka the Otter

Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers

First edition; woodcut after Hester Sainsbury
Author	Henry Williamson
Subject	European otter
Genre	Natural history novel
Publisher	G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date	1927 (1927)
Publication place	England

Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers is a 1927 novel by English writer Henry Williamson, first published by G.P. Putnam's Sons with an introduction by the Hon. Sir John Fortescue. It won the Hawthornden Prize in 1928,^[1] and has never been out of print since its first publication.^[2]

The novel describes the life of an otter, along with a detailed observation of its habitat in the country of the River Taw and River Torridge in North Devon (the "Two Rivers"); the name "Tarka" is said by Williamson to mean "Wandering as Water" (p. 10). Although not written for children, the book soon became popular with young readers, and also influenced literary figures as diverse as Ted Hughes and Rachel Carson.