When Falstaff calls upon the sky to rain potatoes in The Merry
Wives of Windsor, he is highlighting the late sixteenth-century
belief that the exotic vegetable, recently introduced to England
from the Americas, was an aphrodisiac. In Romeo and Juliet, Lady
Capulet calls for quinces to make pies for the marriage feast of
her daughter. This fruit was traditionally connected with weddings
and fertility, as echoed by John Gerard in his herbal where he also
explained that eating quinces would 'bring forth wise children, and
of good understanding'. Taking fifty quotations centring on
flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables, Margaret Willes gives these
botanical references their social context to provide an intriguing
and original focus on daily life in Tudor and Jacobean England,
looking in particular at medicine, cookery, gardening and folklore
traditions. Exquisitely illustrated with unique hand-painted
engravings from the Bodleian Library's copy of John Gerard's herbal
of 1597, this book marries the beauty of Shakespeare's lines with
charming contemporary renderings of the plants he described so
vividly.
General
| Imprint: |
Bodleian Library
|
| Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
| Release date: |
October 2015 |
| First published: |
2015 |
| Authors: |
Margaret Willes
|
| Dimensions: |
184 x 118 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Hardcover - Paper over boards
|
| Pages: |
208 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-1-85124-437-9 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Sport & Leisure >
Miscellaneous items >
Gift books
|
| LSN: |
1-85124-437-9 |
| Barcode: |
9781851244379 |
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
