An intriguing & richly illustrated analysis of the symbolic imagery found in gardens throughout history this work features dedicated mailing to targeted art & gardening related media & organisations. This superbly illustrated volume presents readers with an intelligent & engaging analysis of the constituent elements of gardens
- both real & imagined
- that uncovers their often-hidden symbolic meanings. It uses over 380 paintings to provide a continuous visual record of the myriad & ephemeral form of the garden with salient details being drawn to the readers attention for closer examination. The first half of Gardens in Art" examines the main types of garden throughout history from the humble medieval enclosure for devotions through the magnificent gardens celebrating the power of popes & kings to the great public parks of the 19th century. The second half focuses on the decorative elements
- including topiaries statues grottoes & labyrinths
- & discusses how they provide clues to their importance in particular cultures."



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Cornish gardens have it all: dramatic natural settings in coast or combe a wet & mild climate yielding exotic & extravagant plant growth an indefinable quality of foreignness. Antony has a magnificent early eighteenth-century house in an equally fine natural setting Glendurgan is the repository of a plant-collecting dynasty who have lived there since the 1820s while the beautifully restored Heligan retains all the charm of its Victorian heyday. Caerhays boasts an unrivalled collection of camellias rhododendrons & magnolias. Contemporary gardens like the vertiginous jungle encasing Lamorran House Barbara Hepworths sculpture garden & the ambitious landscape taking shape at Tremenheere not to mention the world-famous Eden Project are proof positive that Cornish gardens continue to be both generic & unique. Above all as backdrop to these spectacular places there is the sea. ...

The Gardens of Delight brochure promises the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful gardens in the Lake Como area of Italy. For Lucy the chance to go to Italy offers more than just gardens. Lake Como is where her father lives & the last time she saw him was when she was just a teenager. Recently married Helen & her wealthy husband have just moved into the Old Rectory. With her husband spending so much time away from home Helen throws herself into caring for the garden. But Helen needs help
- & friends
- & so decides to take the plunge & join the local Garden Club. Conrad isn't the least bit interested in gardening. Widowed for five years his life revolves around work & humouring Mac his elderly uncle who lives with him & who has expressed a desire to go on the Gardens of Delight tour. Reluctantly Conrad agrees to accompany him. ' Anything for a peaceful life ' he concedes. But a peaceful life is the last thing any of them are in for...

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In England gardening & garden-visiting are national obsessions. More than 80 years ago the National Gardens Scheme (NGS) was founded with the aim of raising money for charity by opening gardens of quality & interest to the public. In the first year some 600 gardens were opened. Today over 3700 gardens
- many of them privately owned & opened for just a few days each year
- are listed in The Yellow Book the annual guide published by the NGS. The Gardens of England gives you the opportunity to enjoy 50 of the country's greatest garden gems from the comfort of your armchair. Each of the five chapters is written by a different leading gardens expert & surveys 10 gardens opened as part of the NGS during a particular period. George Plumptre head of the NGS provides an engaging introduction on garden-visiting & 12 well-known gardeners offer a personal account of their favourite NGS garden. Featuring established & new gardens of all styles this is a book that no lover of the English garden should be without.

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The magnificent parks & gardens owned by English Heritage are far less well-known than its evocative medieval abbeys or Victorian mansions. Yet these remarkable places offer a wide-ranging variety of gardening pleasures. Some have stunning designs while others are important for their history or their plants. A surprising number are brand new & a few of the best are tiny. All have marvellously atmospheric surroundings. From the formality of Wrest Park & Chiswick House to the rolling parkland slopes around Kenwood House; from Queen Victorias garden at Osborne complete with charming vegetable plots for the royal children to the exotic Quarry Garden at Belsay Hall & the modern restraint of the Contemporary Heritage Scheme here are gardens from every corner of England & almost every century. These essays tell the story of how each was created & of the sometimes eccentric families who owned them. The decay their trees fountains & statues so often fell into is described
- & the way they have been restored & survive to delight us today.
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Attracting over a million visitors each year the island gardens of Madeira are unique. For centuries Madeira was at the crossroads of the world
- half-way between the tropics & the old continent. The islanders were poised to receive plants from far-flung empires & accommodate ideas from both north & south. In such a climate growth is phenomenal & streets & squares are filled with magnificent trees (jacarandas flame-trees & rosewoods) let alone the oozing dragon trees. Some thirty gardens in & around the capital Funchal & further afield as well as some of the unique native flora & landscape are expertly described. Luckhurst also explores the discovery & development of the island & its earliest gardens & the role of Portuguese aristocrats & British wine merchants in creating the country estates known as quintas.
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Nicknamed 'the rose among the palms' the thous&-year-old city of Marrakesh is characterised by its pink-coloured pise architecture & its deeply rooted tradition for gardens & green spaces. The majority of historic sites are inextricable from their gardens
- or indeed are historic green spaces: the huge royal orchard pleasure-gardens of the Agdal were described by Monty Don as 'of international cultural importance on a par with Versailles or Villa d' Este'. Scores of traditional riads & hotels like the Mamounia created by the French in 1923 on the site of an eighteenth-century royal residence offer splendid gardens to the visitor. Yves Saint Laurent's Majorelle garden is an icon of modern garden design. The first book to be published on this fascinating subject Gardens of Marrakesh champions the city's relevance today in a world of water scarcity & urban development & explores its green heritage considering some twenty gardens both from an historic & cultural perspective.
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An extraordinary French Resistance wartime memoir combining the best kind of adventure story with a coming of age testimony of unforgettable resonance & poignancy. September 2011 Halkidiki Northern Greece. A solitary 86 year-old man gazes across an Aegean headland knowing that he must finally confront his past. He begins to write... September 1939 Nieppe Northern France. 14 year-old Stephen is living with his family 25 kilometres from Ypres. His French mother battles with her encroaching blindness. Failing to escape the advancing German army his English father can no longer look after the war graves that cast so heartbreaking a shadow across the region. Stephen & his friend Marcel embark upon their great adventure: collecting souvenirs from strafed convoys & crashed Messerschmitts. But their world turns dark when arrested & imprisoned for sabotage & threatened with deportation or the firing squad. Upon his release & still only 16 Stephen is recruited by the French Resistance. Growing up under the threat of imminent betrayal he learns the arts of clandestine warfare &
- in a moment that haunts him still
- how to kill... Such was the impact of Stephen Gradys work for the French Resistance (especially during the countdown to D-Day & its bloody aftermath) that he was awarded the Croix de Guerre & the American Medal of Freedom.

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Elizabeth Glendinning QC has lost faith in the legal system. In an attempt to restore it she has secretly devised a scheme to bring back to court a guilty man
- Graham Riley
- whom she had successfully defended some ten years before. As part of an elaborate contingency plan Elizabeth leaves the unsuspecting Father Anselm with a key to a safety deposit box to be opened in the event of her death. Three weeks later she is found dead in the East End of London & once the box has been opened a chain of events is triggered as if from beyond the grave leading Anselm to fulfil what Elizabeth has begun. A powerful portrait of the dark heart of London & a tense thriller THE GARDENS OF THE DEAD confirms William Brodricks growing critical reputation.

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Bled dry by interminable warfare infighting & bloody confrontations with Lord Anomander Rake & his Tiste Andii the vast sprawling Malazan empire simmers with discontent. Even its imperial legions yearn for some respite. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack & his Bridgeburners & for Tattersail sole surviving sorceress of the Second Legion the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the dead. But Darujhistan last of the Free Cities of Genabackis still holds out
- & Empress Lasseen's ambition knows no bounds. However it seems the empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister forces gather as the gods themselves prepare to play their h&... Conceived & written on an epic scale Gardens of the Moon is a breathtaking achievement
- a novel in which grand design a dark & complex mythology wild & wayward magic & a host of enduring characters combine with thrilling powerful storytelling to resounding effect. Acclaimed by writers critics & readers alike here is the opening chapter in what has been hailed a landmark of epic fantasy: the awesome ' The Malazan Book of the Fallen'.

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