Flora is a well written and fascinating monograph deep dive into floral symbolism in classical art by Dr. Hope Werness. Released 28th Oct 2025 by Hachette on their Timber Press imprint, it's 240 pages and is available in hardcover format.
Beautifully illustrated throughout, the intelligently written (layman accessible) text is peppered with historical art, illustrations, facsimiles, and records. The information is arranged thematically: trees, flowers, fruits vegetables & seasonings, and grains grasses & vines. The author writes engagingly and in simple precise language which isn't dry or overly academic.
The author is very well versed in her subject matter and writes accurately and "shows her work" in cultural and historical references, drawing subtle but logical conclusions from the material. The chapter notes are likely worth the price of the book alone and will provide keen readers with many hours of further reading and exploration. She must be a heck of a professor and her students and colleagues are lucky to move in the same orbits. Very interesting info, very well presented.
It's admittedly a niche subject, but fascinating nonetheless.
Five stars, it would be a superlative choice for public or post-secondary school library acquisition, home library, gardening / art interested discussion groups, or gift giving.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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