"The Tulip" is not a gardening book. It is the story of a flower that has made men mad. Greed, desire, anguish and devotion have all played their part in the development of the tulip into the world-wide phenomenon it is today. No other flower has ever carried so much cultural baggage; it charts political upheavals, illuminates social behaviour, mirrors economic booms and busts, plots the ebb and flow of religious persecution. Pavord tells how the tulip arrived from Turkey and took the whole of Western Europe by storm. Sumptuously illustrated from a wide range of sources, this beautifully produced and irresistible volume will become a bible, a unique source book, a universal gift book and a joy to all who possess it.
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In an auction held in Holland in February 1637, 99 lots of tulip bulbs fetched a staggering 90,000 guilders, more than six million pounds in today's money. Tulipomania had reached its height, and its story is told in just one of the fascinating sections of Anne Pavord's wonderful book on this most seductive of flowers.
Pavord's passion for the flower is evident from the opening pages of the book, as she scrambles across the hillsides of Crete in search of an obscure, indigenous purple tulip, whose discovery leads into Pavord's extraordinary history of this beautiful yet enigmatic flower. As with all the best love stories, Pavord's is told from the perspective of the tulip, from its adoption by the Ottoman sultans of Istanbul, including the downfall of Ahmed III in 1730, so indulgent was his desire for the flower, to the present cultivation of the flower by the Wakefield Tulip Society.
Along the way incredible stories of people's investment in the flower emerge, the result, as Pavord explains, of the unique feature of the tulip. Its variegated colours are produced by a small parasitic aphid, which weakens the plant, but produces its gorgeous colours. The Tulipomania which gripped 17th-century Europe was a form of futures trading, as people purchased tulip bulbs at increasingly inflated prices with the hope that they would flower into the most beautiful and kaleidoscopic colours imaginable. The Tulip is an extraordinary book, beautifully illustrated and offering a fascinating story of our obsession with the most ephemeral of objects; buying tulip bulbs will never be the same again! --Jerry Brotton
Review
'A passionate masterpiece' Mail on Sunday 'It should certainly be bought by all who love tulips. Those who do not are not necessarily past redemption and they should buy it too' Sunday Telegraph 'The Tulip is a stylish book, beautifully illustrated' The Times 'Written by a scholar, reads like a thriller' Daily Telegraph
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Rebus
Format:Paperback
I can't quite believe the other reviews. This book is a joy to handle and to read. Its so clearly a work of passion on a subject we would never know about if it wasn't for the enthusiasm and rigour of its author. Its not meant to have mass market appeal (maybe the glowing reviews didn't help it here) - but for the amateur gardener with an interest in history its a book to treasure
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By booksetc
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
Undoubtedly scholarly, but not a book for the general reader. Unfortunately, Anna Pavord's writing style is dry and repetitive and deadened my interest in the subject. Lovely illustrations, though. I was disappointed as I thought it would be livelier and more accessible, given its best-seller status. Guess many copies have been bought for gifts and never read.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
One of the most beautiful books I have ever handled. Gorgeous illustrations, carefully - even lovingly - chosen. But the accompanying text was repetitive, self-indulgent and dull, dull, dull. Deserves to be a coffee table book.
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2.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
The book was in great conditions. I wanted it for the pictures because I want to get a tulip tattoo, the paper has great quality.
Published 2 months ago by Melissa
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Tulip
Anna is at her best when digging for the history on flora and people.Another great repository of knowledge on this most under valued of flowers. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gary
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dauntingly huge
I was delighted when a relative gave me this for Christmas. Four years ago. I can vaguely remember that the illustrations were delightful. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Peasant
1.0 out of 5 stars
This book was not short enough
I am a keen gardener and the gardening books that stack my shelves go all the way back to the original Mr. Middleton. Read more
Published on 18 May 2011 by Peter Lynch
3.0 out of 5 stars
A lot of research uninterestingly relayed
I am amazed that someone would go to the trouble to accumulate so much good information & then put it together in such a repititive & boring way, The author can't "write", she can... Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2010 by Mrs. Carole Reeves
2.0 out of 5 stars
In bad need of pruning
There's some interesting stuff in here, but for the non-gardener, it's far too long, very repetitive and concentrates far too much on arcane details. Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2008 by oldhasbeen
2.0 out of 5 stars
Leaden product of obsession
...to readsome of the early reviews you'd have thought the author had writtenthe Bible, not this leadenly-paced and excessively-detailed tombstone, which nine times out of ten... Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2000
3.0 out of 5 stars
Strong on horticulture - weak on history
As both a keen gardener and an historian, I found this both a fascinating and an infuriating book. There is no doubt that Anna Pavord is an authority on the botany and the history... Read more
Published on 10 May 1999
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very disappointing
After all the hype I was really disappointed with this book. Pavord is obsessed with the tulip - not necessarily a bad thing, you might think, but it is when it means there is no... Read more
Published on 26 April 1999
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