A Modern Herbal, Vol. 1

FROM OUR EDITORS

An instant classic upon its publication in 1931, this charmingly antiquated book opens a window on a more innocent time, when life was simpler and men and women were more intimately connected to nature. Mrs. Grieve's encyclopedia contains reliable information on more than 1,000 English and American plants, providing practical advice on cultivation, uses, and effects. But its real value for the modern reader is its delightful "browsability." Far from dull, it is written in a decidedly literary style, with snippets of poetry, allusions from mythology and folklore, quotations, recipes, and an array of breezy anecdotes to temper its scientific bent. Here is an example, to be found under the entry for Roses: "It was once the custom to suspend a Rose over the dinner-table as a sign that all confidences were to be held secret...It has been suggested that because the Pretender could only be helped secretly (sub rosa), that the Jacobites took the white rose as his symbol." B&W illus.

FROM THE PUBLISHER