Gardens of Italy by Ann Laras  (1)
$31.50
|
Italian Villas and Their Gardens: The Original 1904 Edition by Edith Wharton
$23.10
|
Sun-Drenched Gardens: The Mediterranean Style by Jan Smithen  (6)
$26.37
|
The French Country Garden by Louisa Jones (2)
$19.77
|
New Gardens in Provence: 30 Contemporary Creations by Louisa Jones  (3)
$31.50
|
This item is not eligible for Amazon Prime, but millions of other items are. Join Amazon Prime today. Already a member? Sign in.
|
|||||||||
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Though most know her as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of novels such as The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton was also something of a doyenne of domestic taste, and fortunately neither a nearsighted nor a parochial one. She published the first serious treatment of Italian garden architecture, Italian Villas and Their Gardens, in 1904. A lifelong Italophile as well as a lifelong gardener herself, Wharton had an instinctive attraction to both the clipped precision and the sensuous disarray that characterize an Italian villa garden. Nineteen of the gardens Wharton and her illustrator Maxfield Parrish brought to public attention are virtually unchanged by the passage of the single century since her descriptions were written. Garden photographer and writer Vivian Russell has recaptured both the essence of the gardens themselves and Wharton's experience of them in a series of luscious photographs and historical summaries of each garden. The Villa Cetinale, pictured on the cover from the vantage point of its lemon garden, was singled out by Wharton for its charm and its long green park, marked by a 15th-century gateway at one end and a romitorio, or hermitage, at the other.
Though most know her as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of novels such as The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton was also something of a doyenne of domestic taste, and fortunately neither a nearsighted nor a parochial one. She published the first serious treatment of Italian garden architecture, Italian Villas and Their Gardens, in 1904. A lifelong Italophile as well as a lifelong gardener herself, Wharton had an instinctive attraction to both the clipped precision and the sensuous disarray that characterize an Italian villa garden. Nineteen of the gardens Wharton and her illustrator Maxfield Parrish brought to public attention are virtually unchanged by the passage of the single century since her descriptions were written. Garden photographer and writer Vivian Russell has recaptured both the essence of the gardens themselves and Wharton's experience of them in a series of luscious photographs and historical summaries of each garden. The Villa Cetinale, pictured on the cover from the vantage point of its lemon garden, was singled out by Wharton for its charm and its long green park, marked by a 15th-century gateway at one end and a romitorio, or hermitage, at the other.
The book's considerable charm lies in the historical perspective it affords of Wharton and her Victorian colleagues as well as the many centuries borne so gracefully by the beautiful land they loved. It's a marvelous homage to Wharton and a must-read for all lovers of things Italian.
From Booklist
Famous American author Edith Wharton adored Italy--adored Italian gardens, in particular. In 1904 she published a series of commentaries on that subject, Italian Villas and Their Gardens. Contemporary garden authority and photographer Russell recently followed the trail blazed by Wharton around the Italian peninsula, relooking at the gardens the previous writer had favored in her collection of articles, which has come to be regarded as a groundbreaking reckoning of Italian landscape art and architecture. The result is this lovely oversize book, which will appeal to gardeners and fiction devotees as well as travel enthusiasts. Beautifully composed and reproduced photos match the enthusiastic text (which tells the history of each villa) in fostering a real sense of seeing things as Wharton saw them and in compelling the viewer to appreciate the uniquely Italian aesthetics underlying the creation of the gardens. This book is a very nice treat. Brad Hooper
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
See all 2 customer reviews...
Look Inside This Book
Citations
(learn more)
2
books
cite this book:
- A Historical Guide to Edith Wharton (Historical Guides to American Authors) by Carol J. Singley in Back Matter
- Van Day Truex: The Man Who Defined Twentieth-Century Taste and Style by Adam Lewis in Back Matter
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
 |
54% buy Edith Wharton's Italian Gardens (2)$29.70 |