As 2016 is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, here’s the perfect book to hunker down with (until decent gardening-weather returns).
‘Shakepeare’s Gardens’ by Jackie Bennett hasn’t been released yet but Anxious Gardener Inc. (East Sussex) has a shiny new copy up for grabs. If you’d like the chance to win it, I’ll tell you how to enter the draw after this press release from publisher, Frances Lincoln:
Shakespeare’s Gardens tells the story of the gardens that William Shakespeare knew as a boy and as a man. More than four centuries after the playwright lived, whenever we think of thyme, violets or roses, we more often than not still remember a quote from the plays and sonnets written by him.
William Shakespeare was born and lived in Stratford-upon-Avon for much of his fifty-two years, finding fame in London’s theater world, but returning to his home town in later life. He came to symbolize not only the reawakening of theatre, but also of Elizabethan cultural life in all its myriad forms – including its fascination with flowers.
The five Stratford-upon-Avon gardens represent the different phases of Shakespeare’s life – from his birthplace in Henley Street, to his childhood playground at Mary Arden’s Farm, to his courting days at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and his final home at New Place – where he created a garden to reflect his fame and wealth.
Cared for by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, these gardens are continually evolving to reflect our ongoing knowledge of his life. For the first time, Shakespeare’s Gardens brings together brand-new photography of the gardens with beautiful archive images of flowers, old herbals and sixteenth-century illustrations. It tells the story of Shakespeare’s journey – from glove maker’s son to national poet – and how he came to know so much about plants, flowers and gardens of his time.
JACKIE BENNETT has written six gardening books including The Writer’s Garden (Frances Lincoln, 2014). She writes for The English Garden magazine and is a former editor of The Garden Design Journal.
ANDREW LAWSON is a distinguished garden photographer. Awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Gold Medal for photography and twice winner of the Garden Media Guild’s Photographer of the Year Award, he has illustrated books by many authors, including Rosemary Verey, Tim Richardson, Mary Keen and HRH The Prince of Wales.
You want it, don’t you? ‘Shakespeare’s Gardens’ is published on the 3rd of March and to enter the draw simply:
say so in the “Any Thoughts?” box below
and
(if you don’t do so already) follow ‘The Anxious Gardener’ blog; follow me on Twitter and/or like The Anxious Gardener Facebook page. The relevant follow buttons are top right of this page.
and
send me a crisp £10.00 note (No – Ed)
You can also enter via Twitter or Facebook – check my twitter feed and FB page for details.
Please note that the prize can only be posted to a UK postal address.
The competition will close at midnight on Sunday 28th February 2016.
I’ll draw a name from my
contact the winner and add the result to the bottom of this post.
Good luck!
oooOOOooo
To order Shakespeare’s Gardens at the discounted price of £20 including p&p* (RRP: £25), telephone 01903 828503 or email [email protected] and quote the offer code QPG414.*UK ONLY – Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.
