Product Details
Strange Blooms: The Curious Lives and Adventures Of the John Tradescants

Strange Blooms: The Curious Lives and Adventures Of the John Tradescants
By Jennifer Potter

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Product Description

Now in paperback, this beautifully written and gorgeously produced book describes the remarkable lives and times of the John Tradescants, father and son. In 17th-century Britain, a new breed of "curious" gardeners was pushing at the frontiers of knowledge and new plants were stealing into Europe from East and West. John Tradescant and his son were at the vanguard of this change—as gardeners, as collectors, and above all as exemplars of an age that began in wonder and ended with the dawning of science. Meticulously researched and vividly evoking the drama of their lives, this book takes readers to the edge of an expanding universe, and is a magnificent pleasure for gardeners and non-gardeners alike.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #493564 in Books
  • Published on: 2007-10-10
  • Original language: English
  • Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 496 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
"'Forget Alan Titchmarsh - it's the Tradescants of Jennifer Potter's Strange Blooms we should really salute... Beautifully produced and meticulously researched.' Andrea Wulf, Observer 'A tour de force... We owe Potter a huge debt of gratitude for the tireless research and sifting of evidence that have allowed the Tradescants and their great legacy to emerge so clearly at last.' Jenny Uglow, Sunday Times 'The Renaissance delight in the sheer protean variety of stuff in the world has met its ideal presenter in Jennifer Potter's open pleasure in details.' Jane Stevenson, Daily Telegraph 'Masterly... Jennifer Potter's achievement in Strange Blooms is to have breathed life back into the Tradescant name.' Alexander Urquhart, TLS"

About the Author

Jennifer Potter is the author of three novels and two works of non-fiction, Secret Gardens and Lost Gardens, written to accompany the television series. She reviews regularly for the TLS and writes on travel and gardens for a wide range of national newspapers and magazines.