This book will provide a new perspective on the way we garden, why we garden and what it means for us. Full of fascinating characters and vignettes -- from ancient Greeks to suffragettes, from eccentric military men to Catholics in hiding from persecution -- The Pursuit of Paradise looks into how society's changes have altered our views of gardening, who does it, and how we do it. What drives people to risk their lives in search of a rare Himalayan flower? Why are so many gardeners homosexual? How did gardening become a respectable career for women? When did looking at other people's gardens become a national British pastime? Using particular gardens to lead into themes like power, refuge, female emancipation, distribution of wealth and fashion, Jane Brown presents a history of the nation through its most popular national pursuit. It will be essential reading for the horticulturally impassioned for years to come.
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Editorial Reviews
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'A fresh and beautifully illustrated account of gardeners' ideals and their realisations! Open it at any page and one is hooked' Natasha Spender, Daily Mail 'The most enchanting, erudite and thought-provoking book on the subject to be published for many years' Amanda Craig, Independent on Sunday 'Completely absorbing' Peter Parker, Daily Telegraph 'A series of idiosyncratic, delightfully informative and elegantly written essays! 'This year's ideal Christmas present for the literate gardener' Sir Roy Strong, Sunday Express 'A genuinely important contribution, not just to understanding gardens of the past, but to how we might get the most pleasure from the gardens of the future' Montagu Don, Observer 'If you want to be impressively well-informed about why every self-respecting home must have a patio, or why delphiniums, gladioli and larkspur are distinctly passe, then latch on to this illuminating book' Penelope Lively, Mail on Sunday 'Be warned. This is a rich brew, not to be taken in one gulp. Gardening in this book encompasses science and history, philosophy and art, literature and the military, politics and sex! it is all tremendous fun' Ruth Gorb, Guardian
About the Author
Jane Brown is the author of Gardens of a Golden Afternoon, Eminent Gardens, a biography of Lutyens, and The Pursuit of Paradise: A Social History of Gardens and Gardening.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful well illustrated, but left me needing to know more,
This review is from: Pursuit of Paradise (Paperback)
It was always going to be an ambitious project to define the social history of the garden in 377 pp including index, and bibliography and while Brown writes a good history, it is ultimately thin when trying to encompass such a broad subject.
The chapters are defined mostly by the type of garden, from military to secret, to small gardens, but clearly while chapters each hold a theme the subject matter is a mixed bag in each of them. For instance the military garden is very much about the rise of the large park and the type of features which were defined by military themes - the ha ha for instance came from military design and indeed the first garden landscapers would use the military texts to assist them. The duke of Marlboroughs gardens and palace were laid out with this military theme in mind in the early eighteenth century - and the description of the garden landscaping even harks back to the military theme again. If you think people can't wait for gardens to be planted now then it is a salient reminder that people have been impatient all through history. Mature trees were provided for the wilderness area which looked as though they were 30 years old when planted - and the operation to plant them all certainly needed to done with military precision. The irony is that within 40 years the entire gardens which had been planted were torn up and the park redone by that most patient of landscape architects, Capability brown. All the most famous gardeners are here, Capability Brown, Jekyll, Sackville-West, Luteyns etc - and their contribution to the development of the garden, or the influences of the time are discussed in reference to their age and the development. All types of gardens are covered - from personal spaces, to large estates to military graveyards - so it broadly covers all avenues (so to speak). This is definitely only for those interested in gardening itself but I found it enormoulsy readable. Brown has an easy readable style. It is well illustrated too. There are seceral colour picture sections, but throughout the text are b/w garden plans or reproductions of significant influences to garden design.
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