The "gypsy herbalist", Juliette de Bairacli Levy, died last week aged 96.
Juliette was a world renowned herbalist, author, breeder of Afghan hounds,
friend of the Gypsies, traveller in search of herbal wisdom, and the pioneer of
holistic veterinary medicine. Juliette has a long record of spectacular cures to
her credit and the books she has written have been a vital inspiration for the
present day herbal renaissance.

Juliette was born on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11 month, almost in
1911 (actually 1912) in Manchester. Her parents were Jewish - her mother from
Egypt and her father from Turkey. Juliette was raised in a household with three
sisters and two brothers, a nanny, chauffeur, maid and gardener. She was
educated at Lowther College, one of the best girls schools in Britain, and went
on to study veterinary medicine at the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool.

However, Juliette did not approve of the vivisection and animal experimentation
that was going on in the universities in the name of science and health. So she
left university after two years and went to study with the Gypsies and peasants
of the world. In the late 1930's Juliette ran a distemper clinic in London
where, at a time when many dogs were dying from this disease, she treated and
cured hundreds of dogs with fasting, herbs and a natural diet. When many Afghan
hound puppies were dying of distemper, Juliette raised a litter of puppies on
her natural rearing methods and these puppies won Best of Show at Crufts Dog
Show.

In the 1930's that Juliette developed a line of herbal supplements for animals
known as Natural Rearing Products. For the next 50 years they were the only
products of their kind on the market. Today these supplements are still
distributed world wide.

In the 1940's, while travelling in America, Spain, France, North Africa and
Turkey, Juliette gathered herbal remedies from the nomadic and peasant peoples
of these lands. When her "Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable" was
published in 1951 [Now in 4th Revised edition:
http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0571161162/sunflowerheal-21]
it was the first veterinary herbal ever to be published as before this time, the
art of farriers, gypsies and peasants had been passed on only by the spoken
word.

During the World War II, Juliette worked in the Women's Land Army gathering
sphagnum moss which was used on soldiers' wounds. After the war she went to
Yorkshire where she cured thousands of sheep who had been declared incurable by
conventional vets. This work brought her to the attention of Sir Albert Howard,
founder of the Soil Association and creator of modern day "organic" farming
methods. Sir Albert Howard encouraged Juliette to learn all she could about
herbal treatments for animals.

Juliette became THE pioneer of what is known today as "holistic animal care".
She went on to write "The Complete Herbal Book for the Dog", extending the
content and title to "..Dog and Cat" in a later update...
http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0571161154/sunflowerheal-21

She also produced a specific feline herbal called "Cats Naturally: Natural
Rearing for Healthier Cats":
http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0571162312/sunflowerheal-21

Juliette's two children, Luz and Rafik, were born in the early 1950's. She took
her children to live in Israel where they raised owls, hawks, dogs, goats,
donkeys and bees. Juliette became famous for saving her hives of bees from shell
attack during the six day war. In Israel and later when she moved to Greece,
Juliette continued to write, to raise Afghan hounds, to garden and to gather
herbal remedies. As well as her herbal books, she has written several travel
books, two novels and three books of poems.

Juliette de Bairacli Levy is famed for her mastery of herbal lore and her many
books on living in tune with nature. Her first contributions to human herbalism
and holistic health were "Illustrated Herbal Handbook for Everyone"
[http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0571118941/sunflowerheal-21]

...and "Nature's Children"
[http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961462086/sunflowerheal-21]
about natural child rearing, remedies, recipes and fascinating lore on
nourishing and healing children naturally.

All these books have become classics and went on to revised editions. Many
generations of humans & animals have been raised & healed on the natural wisdom
they contain.

Later, she wrote the popular "Common Herbs for Natural Health"
http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961462094/sunflowerheal-21 about the
folklore and uses for 200 herbs including cosmetic, culinary, and medical
recipes.

Faber and Faber, one of Juliette's publishers, say that for the past 50 years
they have always received more inquiries about Juliette than about any of their
other authors who include T.S. Eliot, Ted Hughes and William Golding.

For the past many years Juliette has been coming to America every summer to give
lectures, workshops and seminars on herbal medicine. In America she has become
recognized as the grandmother of today's herbal renaissance. In 1998 at their
HerbFest in Iowa, Juliette was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for
her contribution to the world of herb medicine.