The Paper Garden - by Molly Peacock (Paperback)

About the Book

Peacock's exploration of the life of eighteenth century botanist, Mary
Delany, is "[a] graceful meditation on botany, nature, life and age" (NYTBR).

Book Synopsis

In 1772, upon the death of her second husband, Mary Delany arose from her grief, picked up a pair of scissors, and, at the age of seventy-two, created a new art form: mixed-media collage. Over the next decade, Mrs. Delany produced an astonishing 985 botanically correct, breathtaking cut-paper flowers, now housed in the British Museum and referred to as the Flora Delanica. As she tracks the extraordinary life of Delany-friend of George Frideric Handel and Jonathan Swift-internationally acclaimed poet Molly Peacock weaves in delicate parallels in her own life and, in doing so, creates a profound and beautiful examination of the nature of creativity and art. This gorgeously designed book, featuring thirty-five full-color illustrations, is to be devoured as voraciously as one of the court dinners it describes.

Review Quotes

"[A] graceful meditation on botany, nature, life and age...Delaney's story abounds with energy as Peacock brings her alive. Like her glorious multilayered collages, Delany is so vivid a character she almost jumps from the page."-New York Times Book Review" --New York Times Book Review

"A beautifully designed, eye-catching book...[The Paper Garden] is a celebration of second chances and the possibility -so attractive to those of a certain age - of an unexpected blossoming late in life...." --Washington Post

"This book layers Delany's life and work over Peacock's. It is organized by flower - forget-me-not, thistle, poppy, etc., each a metaphor for a different phase in Delany's life...the book itself is a complicated, delicate and beautiful collage." --Los Angeles Times

"Possessed of a discerning eye, Peacock...lavishes attention on Mary's life, both social and artistic, drenching us in vivid, sensory language as if we were adrift in champagne." --Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Physically beautiful and emotionally transporting... To call The Paper Garden a biography is to sell it short...a sumptuous bounty of gorgeous words, striking mosaics and a spirit of joy." --Chicago Tribune

About the Author

Molly Peacock is the award-winning author of five volumes of poetry, including The Second Blush, and a memoir, Paradise, Piece by Piece. Her poems have appeared in the New Yorker, the Paris Review, and the Times Literary Supplement. A transplanted New Yorker, she lives in Toronto.