What I Read in August 2016 Part V. . .

What I Read in August 2016 Part V. . .

In the Garden with Jane Austen by Kim Wilson

This book explains the history of landscape gardening in Jane Austen's time. It draws from secondary sources and supplements with quotes from Austen's novels, letters and other gardening texts from the time. I knew about Humphrey Repton and Capability Brown, the picturesque and the switch to the more natural style. I'm not into gardening so the final section on recreating an Austen garden was useless to me but it is interesting to read about the different types of flowers and the modern equivalents. What I liked best was the quotations from ladies' magazines and other sources. There are recipes for skin lotion to prevent tans, potpourri and advice from 18th and 19th century periodicals.

The photos make every location look amazing! I especially liked the inclusion of the list of filming locations used in Austen adaptations. There are a lot more historic sites added to my must-see list now! I need to win the lottery!