Earthly Joys Av Philippa Gregory

As gardener and confidante to Sir Robert Cecil, John Tradescant is well <br/> placed to observe the political changes that are about to sweep through the <br/> kingdom. He witnesses the division between Parliament and the people, and the <br/> most loyal of servants must find a way to become an independent squire. This is <br/> a historical novel of the early 1600s.This is a tremendous historical novel of the early 1600s, as seen through <br/> the eyes of John Tradescant, gardener to the great men of the age. A traveller <br/> in a time of discovery, the greatest gardening pioneer of his day, yet a man of <br/> humble birth: John Tradescant's story is a mirror to the extraordinary age in <br/> which he lives. As gardener and confidante to Sir Robert Cecil, Tradescant is <br/> well placed to observe the social and political changes that are about to sweep <br/> through the kingdom. While his master conjures intrigues at Court, Tradescant <br/> designs for him the magnificent garden at Hatfield, scouring the known world <br/> for ever more wonderful plants: new varieties of fruit and flower, the first <br/> horse chestnuts to be cultivated in England, even larches from Russia. Moving <br/> to the household of the flamboyant Duke of Buckingham, Tradescant witnesses at <br/> first hand the growing division between Parliament and the people; and the most <br/> loyal of servants must find a way to become an independent squire.