In 1789, Jedidiah Morse described Newport and its environs as the “Eden of America” in the First Geography of the United States. In the nineteenth century landscape architects such as Frederick Law Olmsted created dramatic gardens by the sea for his wealthy clients, and artists from John Frederick Kensett to Henry James and Thornton Wilder celebrated the city as a verdant paradise in painting, poetry, and prose. America’s Eden: Newport Landscapes through the Ages builds on the city’s iconic reputation as a centuries-old paradise, and establishes Newport as a cultural landscape of national significance. The comprehensive history from European settlement to the present day is illustrated by a treasure trove of rare period maps, paintings and photographs by prominent artists, and drawings and sketches by leading designers. Ten chapters discuss topography, geology, and climate; the history of the city from the early days of colonial New England, through the Gilded Age estates, to the 21st century. A chapter on Living Legends emphasises the importance of Newport’s historic trees. The book serves as a critical resource guide encompassing landscape architecture, fine art, tree and plant propagation, and the conservation of natural sites. A rich story of art, history, design and horticulture awaits readers among the gardens, gazebos and trees of Newport.

As one of the most historically intact cities in North America, Newport, Rhode Island, has a cultural and architectural heritage of national significance. Each of the city's districts has its own distinct character with street plans and buildings revealing the political, religious, commercial, and artistic forces that have shaped Newport through the ages. Stately Colonial squares and bustling wharves, picturesque Victorian villas, and scenic drives, opulent Gilded Age palaces for the few and electric streetcars for the many, preservation movements to honor the past, and modernist schemes for a metropolis of the future all tell stories of urban beauty and controversy, of eras of lavish building, urban decay, and extraordinary revival. The Artful City is a richly illustrated portrait of the city from colonial times to the present, documented and celebrated in the maps, paintings, photographs, poetry, and prose of renowned artists and writers. This work is a highly readable illustrated history of one of America's most important physical and cultural entities.