What book would you take to your Desert Island? (will do the music another time) For those who do not know what I am talking about it is the radio show in which a celebrity has to choose eight discs to take to a desert island, along with one luxury, and also a book to accompany the bible (need to change that!)
Mine would be an old book I have called 'English Flower Garden'. Written by William Robinson, it is thickly written and dense with marvellous illustrations. Mine is a fourth edition, the original came out in 1883, mine is 1894. On the inside it seems the book was given by Avice Guinness to Mary McKeag but I may have the surnames wrong.
You would never get tired of reading it, though some would argue it is long winded but he was the gardener of his time, and also wrote a book on the 'Wild Garden' He lived at Gravetye House in Sussex. Maybe I will do a little biography on him later on.
Capturing all the plants you could find in the world was something to note through the nineteenth century. plant hunters set off for the four corners of the world, Japanese and American plants made their way into our gardens.
John Lee Hooker's choice of reading for the desert island was 'a picture book full of pretty women' because he was not too good at reading, he said.
ReplyDeleteSteven Spielberg chose 'Grapes of Wrath' today, but fiction only lasts a couple of reads. I bet Hooker could find a few magazines to put together as well.
ReplyDeleteThe mention of Gravetye rang bells for me as it was not far from where I used to live in Sussex, although I never got to eat or stay there.
ReplyDeleteIt is not far from Grinstead I think Will, so it must be a hotel now from what you say.
DeleteI cannot think of any one book that would do me for any great length of time. Your book is beautifully done though.
ReplyDeleteIt was the time of beautiful books Debby when great care was made in printing them.
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