Author:Jenny Uglow
Get out in your garden and discover the history hidden in the hedges.
Did the Romans have rakes?
Did the monks get muddy?
Did potatoes seem really, really weird when they arrived on our shores?
Drawn from Jenny Uglow's own love for plants, this lively 'potted' history of gardening in Britain takes us on a garden tour from the thorn hedges around prehistoric settlements to the rage for ornamental grasses and 'outdoor rooms' today.
Tracking down the ordinary folk who worked the earth - from weeding women to florists - as well as aristocrats and grand designers and famous plant-hunters, A Little History of British Gardening is brought to life by gorgeously vivid illustrations and Uglow's insightful wisdom.
Not only dealing with flowery meads, grottoes and vistas, landscapes and ha-has, parks and allotments, Uglow explains, for example, how the Tudors made their curious knots; how housewives used herbs to stop freckles; how the suburbs dug for victory in World War II.
With a brief guide to particular historic or evocative gardens open to the public, this is a book to put in your pocket when planning a crisp, winter's day out - but also to read in your armchair with a well-earned glass of red, after a hard day's graft in your own garden.
'Enchanting, stirringly evocative and fascinating' Daily Mail
'This book will be a joy for any gardener' Independent
The book charts gardening right up to the present day, looking at the spike in demand for allotments and the current boom in naturalistic gardening. This isn’t a dry historical reference book, it’s filled with interesting anecdotes and asides that bring all the eras to life
—— Rachael Funnell , English GardenUglow's account of a national obsession is a delight from beginning to end
—— The ObserverThis book will be a joy for any gardener
—— The IndependentThe biographer of Gaskell and Hogarth now takes us into the garden, where plants glow and miniature landscapes unfold at the touch of her easy prose
—— Sunday TelegraphEnchanting, stirringly evocative and fascinating
—— Daily MailElegant history...It is beautifully written and lets you see your own humble plot in its historical and geographical context
—— Daily TelegraphUglow is being modest: her long and leisurely stroll through 2.000 years of British gardening is dense with the foliage of historical research, and highly decorated with literary references and colourful anecdotes
—— Independent on SundayEnthralling...an elegant and witty gem
—— HeraldEngrossing … bursts with stabbings, poisonings, duels, eye-gougings, arquebus shootouts and people being run through with swords. Fletcher’s approach is scholarly yet dramatic, immersed in Renaissance glamour … a tremendous step forward in our knowledge of this intriguing man
—— Alex von Tunzelmann , SpectatorMore than just a forensic reconstruction of the period … Like a detective, Fletcher interrogates her witnesses … But it is among the detailed records of Alessandro’s wardrobe-keepers that she finds her treasure … These lend her narrative a sensuous vividity
—— Frances Wilson , Sunday TelegraphFletcher is entirely at ease amid the Renaissance world and its archival resources, and her details, particularly those involving dress, feasting and ceremonial, are generously deployed in the work of recovering a neglected episode of Florentine history
—— Jonathan Keates , Literary ReviewAn original, revelatory and gripping biography. Not only a vivid evocation of the violence and glamour of sixteenth-century Florence, but also a fresh perspective on the history of race and the concept of the Renaissance man
—— Jessie Childs, author of God's TraitorsGripping … Fletcher describes in detail without losing momentum
—— EconomistA fascinating and profound examination of one of the darkest periods of Medici family history, filled with a wealth of period detail
—— Paul Strathern, author of The MediciAn accomplished and original account of an extraordinary and much misrepresented episode in Italian history. Catherine Fletcher provides a newly sympathetic portrait of a monarch whose rule in Florence was even more unlikely than Henry VII’s presence on the English throne
—— Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of A History of ChristianityAn unexpected box of delights
—— Caroline Murphy, author of Murder of a Medici PrincessFletcher charts Alessandro’s meteoric rise and bloody fall while bringing Renaissance Italy into sharp focus by deftly contrasting its simultaneously sublime and visceral natures, drawing us into an intriguing, believable Florence along the way
—— Catholic HeraldTerrific … maintains a standard that all history books should aim for
—— BBC History MagazineThere are few periods in history as spectacular as the Italian Renaissance, and this fascinating biography of the comparatively obscure Florentine Duke Alessandro de’ Medici is a positive riot of vivid incident and intrigue.’
—— Simon Shaw , Mail on SundayA creditable and enjoyable history of one of the lesser known Medici… It is a story of nepotism, intrigue, murder, lust, spying, double crossing and political and religious power grabbing… Well researched; Fletcher has a good eye for detail and discerning credible witness testimony from contemporary accounts…. lively and entertaining and accessible to the casual reader, as much as the student of the period.
—— Paul Burke , NudgeLike all great story tellers, Varoufakis’ literary flair is not just a function of stylistic prowess. He gets right inside the fears, desires and external constraints of the key players in the complex history of the Eurozone … Reading And The Weak Suffer What They Must? is like reading a gripping thriller. It is a page turner because the plot itself is a relentless sequence of astonishing twists and turns driven by the cunning ingenuity and hubristic folly of its key protagonists … This book is not just illuminating. It is a call to moral awakening and to intelligent, determined and humane political action
—— Open DemocracyBeautifully illustrated… [It] overflows with entertaining detail.
—— Robbie Millen , The TimesTinniswood uses lively local detail.
—— Lindsay Duguid , Times Literary Supplement[It] combines a panoramic view of life and architecture in the interwar years with pin-sharp detail and the sort of springy prose that comes with complete command of the material.
—— London Review of BooksThis is a lively and hugely entertaining history… It’s packed with very funny anecdotes… A delight.
—— Mail on SundayTinniswood paints a vivid portrait of the period
—— Jonathan Wright , Catholic HeraldA detailed and appreciated look at the phenomenon [of country houses]… Tinniswood writes elegantly, in complete charge of his material. The book is a joy to hold in your hand.
—— Spears Wealth Management SurveyWittily written and beautifully illustrated, Tinniswood’s book recreates a world far more peculiar, but at times rather more enviable, than any fictional version.
—— David Horspool , Guardian, Book of the Year[A] compelling volume of social history.
—— Daily Mail, Book of the Year[A] brilliant book about life in the English country house.
—— Rachel Cooke , Guardian, Book of the YearA scandal-packed glimpse into the glamourous Downton Abbey-esque world of English country houses… ****
—— Love it!A probing psychological account.
—— Very Rev. Professor Iain Torrence , Herald Scotland