The Paper Garden is unlike anything else you have ever read. At once a biography of an extraordinary 18th century gentlewoman and a meditation on late-life creativity, it is a beautifully written tour de force from an acclaimed poet. Mary Granville Pendarves Delany (1700-1788) was the witty, beautiful and talented daughter of a minor branch of a powerful family. Married off at 16 to a 61-year-old drunken squire to improve the family fortunes, she was widowed by 25, and henceforth had a small stipend and a horror of a ...
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The Paper Garden is unlike anything else you have ever read. At once a biography of an extraordinary 18th century gentlewoman and a meditation on late-life creativity, it is a beautifully written tour de force from an acclaimed poet. Mary Granville Pendarves Delany (1700-1788) was the witty, beautiful and talented daughter of a minor branch of a powerful family. Married off at 16 to a 61-year-old drunken squire to improve the family fortunes, she was widowed by 25, and henceforth had a small stipend and a horror of a marriage. She spurned many suitors over the next twenty years, including the powerful Lord Baltimore and the charismatic radical John Wesley. She cultivated a wide circle of friends, including Handel and Jonathan Swift. And she painted, she stitched, she observed, as she swirled in the outskirts of the Georgian court. In mid-life she found love, and married. Upon her husband's death 23 years later, she arose from her grief, picked up a pair of scissors and, at the age of 72, created a new art form, mixed-media collage. Over the next decade, Mrs Delany created an astonishing 985 botanically correct, breathtaking cut-paper flowers, now housed in the British Museum and referred to as the Botanica Delanica. Delicately, Peacock has woven parallels in her own life around the story of Mrs Delany's and, in doing so, has made this biography into a profound and beautiful examination of the nature of creativity and art. Gorgeously designed and featuring 35 full-colour illustrations, this is a sumptuous and lively book full of fashion and friendships, gossip and politics, letters and love. It's to be devoured as voraciously as one of the court dinners it describes.
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Add this copy of The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life's Work at to cart. $2.88, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books Company rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lynden, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by McClelland & Stewart.
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Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life's Work at to cart. $2.95, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books East rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glendale Heights, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by McClelland & Stewart.
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Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of The Paper Garden Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life's Work at to cart. $22.99, very good condition, Sold by A Good Read rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Toronto, ON, CANADA, published 2010 by McClelland & Stewart.
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Very Good+ in Very Good dust jacket. 0771070330. Dedication and signature in ink to ffep, edge and tip wear to d/j, bumping to tips of d/j, minor creasing to edges of d/j, bumping to bottom edge of spine (board). A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY-customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery.; 5.34 X 1.11 X 8.28 inches; 416 pages; Signed by Author.
Add this copy of The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life's Work at to cart. $35.08, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by McClelland & Stewart.
Add this copy of The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life's Work at to cart. $62.84, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by McClelland & Stewart.
Add this copy of The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life's Work at to cart. $111.71, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by McClelland & Stewart.
A physically, emotionally and poetically beautiful book, this double memoir is an extraordinarily creative and original work of art. The life of a 17th century lady of fashion, Mary Delany who became an immensely original artist, is illustrated with amazing reproductions of her work, and the patterns in her work serve to illustrate the patterns in her life, as well as in the life of the author
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I have never read anything like this. It is the best non-fiction I've read this year.
