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The Morville Hours: The Story of a Garden
An exquisitely written book about one particular English garden—and about the arc of life. Nobody writes about gardens like the English. And few English writers have ever been as eloquent or astute as Katherine Swift. Some twenty years ago, she and her husband leased a house in the town of Shropshire with a garden that became her passion. Driven to uncover its history...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
May 1st 2009
by Walker & Company
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A book written about a garden didn't seem like a special read but what a delight it is - It has soul! A Brief History of Time, full of human interest.
Katherine Swift is able to draw on so many different sources - local history and characters, the lives of the common people and monastic life; the changes brought about by religious turmoil, war, new ideas, the enclosures etc and of course the development of the earth itself to make the growing medium and the plants she puts into her garden. ...more
Katherine Swift is able to draw on so many different sources - local history and characters, the lives of the common people and monastic life; the changes brought about by religious turmoil, war, new ideas, the enclosures etc and of course the development of the earth itself to make the growing medium and the plants she puts into her garden. ...more
I am listening to this on my kindle while traveling and I am fascinated with it. It is very different from my normal type of reading but I love the sound of the reader's voice and accent as she pronounces the many botanical names of flowers both old and new. this is more a botany or gardening lesson and I actually ordered a hard copy of the book for future reference. It is soothing and evocative of another time - follows the style of a "book of hours". Quite compelling for me and per...more
The zen book of gardening.. its about the hearbeat of the garden.. in spite of trying to tame it you are working with or against the forces of nature.. Its about science, astronomy, history, the present moment, the thoughts running through your head while gardening, the seasons, relationships, emotions, lust, despair.
Its also written in the most wonderful prose..dreamy and lyrical.. thoughtful and evocative. Im very pleased I was given this book.
Its also written in the most wonderful prose..dreamy and lyrical.. thoughtful and evocative. Im very pleased I was given this book.
This is the combined story of a remake of a garden, the people who lived there before and the story of the gardener's life. Somehow it all works and explains how we are not alone in our environments.
Emily
rated it
Recommends it for:
Gardeners, historians, those who like memoirs
Recommended to Emily by:
Rebecca C. and Rebecca H.
Shelves:
memoir,
nonfiction
The magic of books: this one turned an avowed anti-gardener into someone who was riveted by a garden. A book to be savored.
This is a slow read, with lots of meandering with interesting diversions, so I didn't finish in time for the book group meeting. Very interesting if you like gardening and history,and I would like to finish it sometime. Only as long as I find out how one gets to be in charge of a National Trust garden. It hasn't been explained in the early chapters that I read (did they buy the garden? did they apply for a job? how??)
Good for a leisurely read, The Morville Hours is the story of the making of a formal, English garden. Swift has structured the book around the old Christian books of hours, referring to various liturgical events as she describes what is happening in her gardens. There are wonderful historical tidbits laced throughout her telling, and that, and her passion for her project, are what make the book such a pleasure. Suzy S.
Beautiful writing — the kind where you go back to read a sentence or a paragraph over because it's so thoughtful and well-crafted. I'm appreciative as well as envious of her talent and her garden.
Swift's capacious curiosity makes this a compelling read. The story ripples out from her personal experience to the histories of the prior owners, to geographical and even cosmic time.
This is a really beautiful book. Lovely prose, lovely atmosphere and full of interesting information.
Only, for some reason it sent me to sleep every time I picked it up.
Only, for some reason it sent me to sleep every time I picked it up.
Karen
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
library-or-borrowed-copies
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