The Butterfly Season

An important and wonderful book about the hunt for Denmark’s 64 different butterflies … Read these 314 pages and your view of the world will never be the same * Jyllands-Posten *One of those books that makes the world richer – Kristeligt DagbladDetailed, sensory, precise … Korsgaard has a childlike enthusiasm, and it is contagious. When she describes her hunt for butterflies, it’s almost like reading a crime novel (it’s strangely exciting to see if she finds them!). But it’s also like reading a love story (it’s strangely moving when she does!) * Politiken *Lea Korsgaard’s tantalizing butterfly annals turn disciplined insect hunting into a meditation on existence … The Butterfly Season is illustrated throughout with the author’s own fine butterfly drawings … It is an excellent and extremely well-composed book … first-class literary journalism * Weekendavisen *The Butterfly Season is a book about chasing butterflies, but it’s just as much a book about the meaning of life … Lea Korsgaard re-enchants the world * Information *Lea Korsgaard’s account of her inner and outer journeys becomes one of those books that makes the world a little bigger. Even when it’s about the smallest of things * Berlingske *The book manages to combine nature writing, personal development, and existential reflection in a way that speaks to both the head and the heart. It invites the reader to see the world—and the butterflies in it—with renewed awareness and wonder * The Danish Libraries *The Butterfly Season is an inspiring love letter to the magic of the natural world, in all its beauty and complexity and joy—an intimate encounter with the mysteries of nature and of life, and an unforgettable reminder that wonder reawakens the heart – Amy Tan * No.1 New York Times bestselling author of The Backyard Bird Chronicles *The Butterfly Season is a marvel. In this luminous memoir, Lea Korsgaard sets out on a year-long quest to glimpse every butterfly native to Denmark. What unfolds is far more than a naturalist’s tally. In her pilgrimage through the Danish landscape—and through centuries of natural science, philosophy, and religion—Korsgaard reveals how even the most delicate creature can illuminate our deepest human longings. This is a book about attention, about wonder, and about that most fragile yet persistent human instinct: hope. After reading it, you may find yourself looking more closely at the world—and believing, once again, in its small miracles – Suleika Jaouad * New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Alchemy and Between Two Kingdoms *Part Quixotic quest, part scientific exploration, part intimate memoir, The Butterfly Season invites us to look closer—at butterflies, at the natural world, at the very fragile wonder of being alive—and reminds us that the simple act of slowing down and paying attention may be, simply put, life’s most important lesson. A beautifully written, tender, joy-filled knockout – Isaac Fitzgerald * New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts and American Rambler *

Lea Korsgaard is an award-winning journalist and author. She is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the digital news platform Zetland, and Chair of the Board of the Danish School of Media and Journalism. The Butterfly Season was first published in Denmark in 2025, where it became a no.1 bestseller.