Blooming Flowers: A Seasonal History of Plants and People

Fresh and novel in its approach, this almost unclassifiable work of literary scholarship by Boddy (Geranium), an American literature professor at the University of Cambridge, ruminates on how 16 different flowers have been sewn into popular culture, politics, and the arts. The flowers, divided among the four seasons they represent, include old standbys (such as roses and lilies) as well as unusual varieties (such as almond and cotton flowers). In a meandering, essayistic fashion and with a flair for aphorisms (“Autumn is spring’s alter ego”), Boddy touches on origins, popular associations, and ceremonial and medicinal applications in countries around the world (including China, Japan, Mexico, India, and Iran). Noting that flowers are among the “most ancient of mediums through which we communicate,” Boddy points out a variety of works where they pop up, among them films (such as 1931’s Frankenstein, in which Boris Karloff’s monster picks petals off a daisy), novels (such as the poppy fields in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), and paintings (including O’Keefe’s “close-up portraits” and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers). Boddy’s deeply individualistic assemblage will appeal to gardeners and literature lovers alike. (June)