The judges welcome writing that invites reflection on the sense of place that is so strong in Jefferies' works and, perhaps, demonstrated by this quote from his 'Wildflowers' article published in The Open Air in 1885:
'If we had never before looked upon the earth, but suddenly came to it man or woman grown, set down in the midst of a summer mead, would it not seem to us a radiant vision? The hues, the shapes, the song and life of birds, above all the sunlight, the breath of heaven, resting on it; the mind would be filled with its glory, unableto grasp it, hardly believing that such things could be mere matter and no more. Like a dream of some spirit-land it would appear, scarce fit to be touched lest it should fall to pieces, too beautiful to be long watched lest it should fade away.'
