Customer Reviews

Earthly Joys

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1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased Earthly Joys upon finishing The Other Boleyn Girl trilogy and realizing that after almost 2,000 nonstop pages of Philippa Gregory I still had not had enough. Earthly Joys moves the reader from the Tudor period into the Stuart era through the eyes of John Tradescant, a royal gardener who tends to his plants as though they were children. Indeed, sometimes better than his children. Devoted to his wife and family, Tradescant none the less finds himself smitten with the dashing and glamorous Lord Buckingham and is soon torn between the simple family homestead, and the opulent gardens of the king.

Written with her trademark amazing characterization and vivid attention to detail, Gregory brings to life the turbulent 17th century society of Charles I and impending revolution. Reading of those long ago political machinations, desperate economy, rising religious conservatism, and consequences of forbidden love makes one realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The faces have changed, but the scene is the same today.

Historical fiction is Gregory's métier, especially England in the Tudor/Stuart eras, Earthly Joys covering 1603-1639, post-Elizabethan rule, when James I of takes the throne, bringing his Scottish entourage with him. Changing the face of the once staid and proper Elizabethan court, James closes his eyes to Papist practices and indulges in masks and diversions, wasting the coin of the treasury on vast entertainments, while the common people are burdened with unnecessary taxes, their farmlands enclosed for royal use.

Robert Cecil, long a close advisor to Queen Elizabeth, steps in to advise the new King, his estate a favorite diversion for the royals, with its magnificent gardens and handsome appointments. John Tradescant is chief gardener to the statesman, as well as a close friend. A simple man, John believes deeply in the natural hierarchy of authority, God, King, Lord and servant, although many have begun to question the King's direct link to God. John's gardens reflect his philosophy, an Eden without the taint of disorder: "a delicate marriage of wildness and artifice, an imposition of order upon unruliness, which... looked as if it had been ordered and well-ruled out of simple good nature."

After Cecil's death, John is commissioned to work at other fine estates, creating his intricate gardens from plants he has collected from all over the world. Eventually, John's talent comes to the notice of George Villier, the Duke of Buckingham, a confidant of both King James and his successor and heir, King Charles I. The Duke's behavior is scandalous, his excesses legend and there is gossip that he is lover to both the King and his heir. But when Tradescant meets Villier, he falls under the man's spell, his charm and beauty blinding John to the dangers of such an alliance.

John's wife, Elizabeth, has always been of a strong religious bent, eschewing finery for the more austere garb of the Puritans. As John travels over the years for Cecil and the Duke, gathering cuttings and rarities, his son grows up much like Elizabeth, questioning the King's direct lineage to God and wanting more than to pledge his life to another man as an oath-bound servant. By the end of James's reign, the Duke is second only to the new monarch, Charles I, who, like his father, ignores the troubles of his people, indulging in his own pleasures. But John is helpless to deny the Duke, even to the point of death, desperately in love with the charismatic dandy who is squandering the kingdom at the side of Charles I.

Throughout the novel, nature's diversity is contrasted with the turmoil wrought by selfish kings and their sycophants. Tradescant straddles the middle ground, wed to the beauty he creates, but losing his balance in matters of the heart. He believes the myth, mistaking a god in the dazzling beauty of the Duke, yet constantly disappointed by the reality of his position in life: he is only a gardener, albeit the finest in all of England. Tradescant is as deeply flawed as the era he lives in, a good man caught up in a dark vortex of conflicted emotions, struggling to balance his duties as a husband and father with the yearning to travel the world, to follow the Duke wherever he leads. His faith in God and himself is put to the test and John knows both indescribable joy and the depths of despair.

John serves as a metaphor for the changes sweeping the country, devoted to the old ways, yet tempted by the new, his heart tormented by helpless devotion to the Duke, his marriage flawed but still dear. His life mirrors history, the reign of James I, Charles I, The Gunpowder Plot, the great crash of the tulip market in Holland, the clash of King and Parliament and a growing populist revolution, a well-ordered world thrown into chaos by an irresponsible monarchy blind to the ills of society. Tradescant travels the globe gathering every variety of nature to plant in English soil, a life he could never have imagined, his soul adrift in a rose-filled garden, the sharp thorns of loss hidden beneath the fragrant petals. Luan Gaines/2005.

This is a fascinating story of the political turmoil surrounding King Charles I from a wonderful perspective. It was very clever how it entwined gardening with the turbulent times of the era, how the great men found a type of release in the garden away from the real world.

However I found it the tiniest bit bland after the 'Wise Woman'. Maybe I just didn't agree with his personal heirarchy, where a woman barely rates a mention after God and King and the Lords? A sign of the times! I have the sequel on my shelf and look forward to losing myself in it.

The author tells the story of the legendary 17th century English gardener John Tradescant leisurely and clearly because he is a man of the earth, but when the story mounts and he meets the love of his life the writing is obsessive and often exquisite, and the more unusual because the love is nothing like he could have expected and he is by then sixty years old. I had tears in my eyes. An unforgettable character. I am also an English historical novelist writing of the same century and I was swept away.

After reading and thoroughly enjoying Gregory's "The Other Boleyn Girl" recently, I decided to pick another of her novels at random. As luck would have it, I picked the second book of the "Earthly Joys" trilogy, and within the first 20 pages, was captivated by the despair and determination of John Tradescant. Rather than continue the book, I set it aside and eagerly awaited the arrival of book one, "Earthly Joys".

I've just finished that book, and am thoroughly immersed in the sense of the Tradescant family's devotion to each other, and to a greater degree, the expansion of their nursery and gardens in England. Throughout the story, Gregory uses a keen eye for descriptive detail, making it easy to feel as though I was seeing things from each character's perspective.

As in any family saga, there are soaring joys and crushing sorrows, but throughout this story, there was such a sense of exploration. John Tradescant evolves from simple gardener to partner and confidant of kings and leaders. As the story of his life and family spans from 1603 to 1638 (in this book), the family is challenged in their spiritual beliefs, and must question the nature of their servitude and loyalty to king and country.

The backdrop to the entire story is a series of master gardens, described in exquisite and interesting detail -- I could envision the expanse of brilliant gold daffodils, sense the cool shade beneath a walk covered in yew trees, nearly hear the growth of buds bursting forth from trees planted lovingly over the years. As the king, queen and their courtiers descend on various castles and gardens throughout the story, Gregory provides background on how the gardens provision the lavish parties and feasts, and must always be ready to feed hundreds of people. It was a fascinating aspect that I had not previously considered.

And now begins the second book, "Virgin Earth", in which J, John Tradescant's son and heir to the family business, escapes England's civil war, and the loss of his wife, by journeying to Virginia. He is commanded by the king to bring back new and rare plants for the queens gardens.

For those who love to lose themselves in well written stories, then by all means, allow yourself the pleasure of "Earthly Joys".

Not in a long time have I enjoyed a book by Philippa Gregory so much. Set in the early seventeenth century when England was on the brink of entering into the modern world, this book follows the story of John Tradescant, a gardener who loyally follows two great men: Robert Cecil, and then George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. The narrative is ambitious, covering the Gunpowder Plot against James I in 1604, through the Dutch tulip trading mania in the 1610s, through a war with the French in the 1620s. It ends just before the Civil War, which began in 1640.

John's loyalty to his masters is complete, unassuming. When the book opens, he is the gardener for Robert Cecil, adviser to the king. Tradescant's reputation as a gardener is widespread, and the Duke of Buckingham, lover to James I and Charles I, desires that John should come to his palace to garden. Against the wishes of his wife, John goes; and his travels around the world will test their marriage.

Warning: there is sex in this book, so it is not for the faint of heart. But it is a wonderful book that explores the love between two men which is poignant and heartbreaking at some points. I loved this book, and I highly recommend it. Also recommended: The Other Boleyn Girl and the Wideacre trilogy.

This is the first and the only Philippa Gregory book I have read. I was apprehensive at first, but was I ever glad that I tried this one. Earthly Joys opens ones eyes to the world of gardens, green leafs, grass, trees, flowers... the description of nature so sensual, one can alsmost smell the fresh cut grass and the fragrance of the flowers... the beauty of the landscapes.. One can feel the blades of grass... the soft leaves, smell the flowers as John does. What captures you most is the way it is all described....

This novel of gardener John Tradescant cannot help but fascinate any avid reader of historical fiction. The book tells the tale of John's personal life - his conflicts with his wife,son, lover - as well as chronciling the events leading up to the English Civil War. Can't wait for the sequel!

I am in the midst of reading "Earthly Joys" and out of all the books this author has written that I have read, I have been the most disappointed. Maybe it is because I enjoy her books that have a dynamic female character as the center of the action as in "The Other Bolyn Sister" or "The Queen's Fool." Both those books are outstanding. This one falls so short because the main character, John, insists on staying loyal at all costs -- including going against his conscience, his common sense, any kind of sense at all. Maybe this was what really happened back then with the person this was patterned after. And it is a good lesson for all who read this -- to think and to stay true to oneself. But, I haven't grown to love this character at all. I am saddened by him. I am very irritated with him. I will finish the book and I hope the ending is outstanding because the rest of the book isn't.

I have read all of Philippa Gregory's novels. Every one of them contain a bit of eroticism and this one is no differant. I may not enjoy homoeroticism but, I enjoyed the story none the less. Set in England at a time when the world was about to open up and the people wanted to explore its' bounty. This is a book that will take you back to those heady days of exploration.