In the years between the wars Norah Lindsay (1873–1948) hugely influenced the course of garden design and planting. She developed her skills in her own garden at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire, widely regarded as the most beautiful garden in England. Then, in 1924, facing financial ruin after the collapse of her marriage, she embarked on a career as a garden designer. Her commissions ranged from the gardens of quiet English manor houses to the grand estates of the country house set, to royal gardens in Italy, France and Yugoslavia. She gardened in different soils and varied climates across all of England and throughout Europe.
All this time she managed to give the impression that she remained 'a social butterfly, a gadfly'. The truth is that although she dined at the tables of the rich, the next day she would be up at dawn to work with their gardeners.
Admirably illustrated and full of letters and forgotten details which are fascinating. It actually contains ideas about gardening which we should all take on board and some historical evidence which is extraordinarily valuable. - Financial Times
This captivating, fulsomely illustrated study of a singular woman is the result of painstaking research, which has revealed that Norah was much more canny and businesslike than her image suggests... the life story is a riot of fun and colour, right up until the end. - Daily Telegraph
An intimate portrait of upper-class life in the first half of the twentieth century, told almost exclusively from the letters, archives and conversations of Lindsay and her circle, and illustrated with a fine collection of then-and-now photographs. - Times Literary Supplement
Publication Details:
Binding: Hardback, 288 pages ISBN: 9780711225244 Format: 287mm x 230mm
over 200 colour photographs and illustrations
BIC Code:BG, WMD BISAC Code:GAR006000 Imprint: Frances Lincoln
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