Customer Reviews

A History of the Fragrant Rose

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There have been so many rose books on the market that one might wonder at the need for yet another - with no color photos, no less - but A History of the Fragrant Rose isn't about glossy photos. It's a survey of the rose's history and blends color artistic illustrations with a survey of the medicinal, culinary, and celebratory properties of roses from ancient to modern times. Engravings, paintings, and more embellish the story of how the rose flourished over the centuries to become the favored flower it is today.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

There is no particular rhyme or reason to this book, it reads like some ancient Renaissance gentleman's idiosyncratic treatise on a pet subject. Lots of interesting tid bits to be found, but more or less of a muddle. Most of the color plates [at least the ones in the hardcover version] seem to have been chosen at random, they are not usually referenced in the text and tend to be only vaguely related to the textual content.

I really wouldn't reccomend this to anyone other than a collector of books on roses or horticultural history.

Except for a couple of brief mentions, everything stopped for this author in the 80s. Also the title is misleading, as there is little about fragrance. IT's a history of rose gardening with some interesting tangents but a great deal about specific gardens, mostly in England and a few on the continent.

This book is extremely boring and really dry. I could not make it through 10 pages without deciding it needs to go back.