The Complete Language of Flowers-Pocket Edition is an encyclopedic manual
of the traditional meaning for flowers and bouquet building in the
traditional manner of the Victorians. Originally published in 2020, this smaller format reprint is due out 12th April 2022 from Quarto
on their Wellfleet imprint. It's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
The book has a retro botanical print vibe and the introduction leads
directly into a very short 'how to use this book'. The bulk of the book
contains an alphabetical listing of the flowers and plants. Each listing
contains a color illustration followed by some of the common names for
each plant listed, symbolic meaning(s), possible powers, and folklore
and facts. The listings are compact, there are 4-6 listings per page.
The book includes a nice bibliography and two indices. One index
includes the flowers listed with common names alphabetically, the other
includes meanings, so if the reader wants to let the recipient down
gently by declaring their platonic affection, it's easily looked up in
the second index (Acacia, robinia, Austrian roses).
This is an appealing and very pretty book for a somewhat niche audience.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment