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Modern Herbal
Marked, clipped, worn and torn dust jacket is in a protective sleeve, some marking to tanned page edges. Shipped from the U.K. All orders received before 3pm sent that weekday.
1032 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1931
About the author
Margaret Grieve
8 books22 followersSophia Emma Magdalene Grieve, a.k.a. Maud, was the Principal and Founder of The Whins Medicinal and Commercial Herb School and Farm at Chalfont St. Peter in Buckinghamshire, England. She is perhaps best known today for her 1931 book, A Modern Herbal.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 12, 2018
This for the person who loves to cook using herbs .But this hell lot more than just parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme as song says. But Belladonna, Henbane & the different types of Opium Poppy. Not what would expect in cookery book.
For instance we have the flower of the Scullcap for insomnia,Willow for rheumatism but this goes on & on. This A-Z of every herb plant that exorcist some taste but hell lot of unheard of & so very dangerous deadly poisoners the sort used in an episode of Midsummer Murders or Miss Marple..At end of the day this fantastic book & if can find a copy buy it .My H/B copy is 1975 reprint copy that I got at special interest cookery book fair in 1990s at Durham city & cost £35 far cry from its £12 in 1975.
The biggest problem is that this not book to read it is book you need in your kitchen its a special reference book so Don't poison your mother in law with Monkshood or Death cap unless you want 25ys in jail.
This fun book because find out everything you didn't know about mint or herbs, mosses, roots that no one heard of since Witchfinder General burnt his last Witch.
For instance we have the flower of the Scullcap for insomnia,Willow for rheumatism but this goes on & on. This A-Z of every herb plant that exorcist some taste but hell lot of unheard of & so very dangerous deadly poisoners the sort used in an episode of Midsummer Murders or Miss Marple..At end of the day this fantastic book & if can find a copy buy it .My H/B copy is 1975 reprint copy that I got at special interest cookery book fair in 1990s at Durham city & cost £35 far cry from its £12 in 1975.
The biggest problem is that this not book to read it is book you need in your kitchen its a special reference book so Don't poison your mother in law with Monkshood or Death cap unless you want 25ys in jail.
This fun book because find out everything you didn't know about mint or herbs, mosses, roots that no one heard of since Witchfinder General burnt his last Witch.
July 21, 2025
still one of my favourite herbals, and one I still regularly consult. the plant/herb entries are very detailed, with information about all the different ways a plant might be prepared and used. and the book contains some older preparations and uses of plants that you don't get in more contemporary herbals, and/or plants/methods that have fallen out of favour/been eclipsed by others in (even more) modern times.
August 17, 2017
A wonderful book with a lot about history of herbs and their cultivation. Written before modern perspectives on biochemistry, but excellent as a history of British agriculture. A huge doorstop of a book, with comprehensive entries on the many names of each herb, uses for each of its parts, some cultivation notes for British herbs, notes on varieties etc, etc. indispensible.
November 4, 2021
A mix of the old and what can be the new. The 17th century almond butter and milk makes me appreciate the advancements we have made but also the fact that more and more we are returning back to the way things were centuries ago with what we put in and on our bodies.
June 25, 2022
Less a book and more a encyclopedic tome. Includes every plant you can likely think of. Listed by common name alphabetical order, and gives the Latin name, synonyms, parts used, habitat, description & history, medicinal action and dosage. Probably a go-to reference for herbalists at any level.
September 13, 2022
A true classic in the world of herbalism. I always lay the book next to up to date data on plant medicine, but it’s still such a valuable book. Lovely written, folklore and plant energies included, I love it. Mrs Grieve really had a heart for the plant folk ♥️🌿
November 23, 2022
At last, I feel safe again
In the 1970’s the Western World was anxious, angry and turning upon itself. The Vietnam War had pitted one generation against another, the Cold War had whittled away at idealism and hope, and the pride and rejoicing in the material gains arising from the optimism and relief inspired by the ending of World War II had turned to shame. Capitalism and triumphalism were in retreat.
Seemingly out of nowhere, nature and the simple life of self-sufficiency beckoned to the middle classes. People who lived in city townhouses and spent their days arm-wrestling over the right to place their foot on the next wrung of the corporate ladder started wearing jeans and lying on the floor with their wives at night pouring over The Whole Earth Catalogue and The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency, learning how to spread cow dung on vegetable gardens, and how to skin a pig ready for pickling. The evolution from subsistence farming to industrialization, to the age of technology, which had delivered such prosperity, and the extension of life, was forgotten as people turned their backs and headed out into the wilds to establish “smallholdings” where they could work from dawn to dusk to put food on the table, paraffin in their lamplights, and home schooling for their barefoot children.
Just as the Bible had been clutched to the bosoms of pioneers riding their wagons out west two centuries earlier, so too was there a bound tome that these escapist smallholders clutched to their bosoms in the 1970s. That book was Mrs Grieves’ Modern Herbal.
It is easy to understand why. Nature was a foreign land. There was no Google to look up for an explanation. What plants would kill you? Which one’s would make you well? How to recognize them; to handle them; to avoid or preserve them? Mrs Grieve — all 888 pages of her — was there to hold your hand through the dark days and nights.
I know, because I had a copy, and when my wife left me she took it. So, it was with great relief that I was able to buy this new edition on Amazon and open the first entry to read of Abscess Root that its Medicinal Action and Uses were: “Astringent, alterative, diaphoretic, expectorant. The drug has been recommended for use in febrile and inflammatory cases, all scrofulous diseases, in bowel complaints requiring an astringent, for the bites of venomous snakes and insects, for bronchitis and laryngitis, and whenever an alterative is required.”
At last, I feel safe again.
In the 1970’s the Western World was anxious, angry and turning upon itself. The Vietnam War had pitted one generation against another, the Cold War had whittled away at idealism and hope, and the pride and rejoicing in the material gains arising from the optimism and relief inspired by the ending of World War II had turned to shame. Capitalism and triumphalism were in retreat.
Seemingly out of nowhere, nature and the simple life of self-sufficiency beckoned to the middle classes. People who lived in city townhouses and spent their days arm-wrestling over the right to place their foot on the next wrung of the corporate ladder started wearing jeans and lying on the floor with their wives at night pouring over The Whole Earth Catalogue and The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency, learning how to spread cow dung on vegetable gardens, and how to skin a pig ready for pickling. The evolution from subsistence farming to industrialization, to the age of technology, which had delivered such prosperity, and the extension of life, was forgotten as people turned their backs and headed out into the wilds to establish “smallholdings” where they could work from dawn to dusk to put food on the table, paraffin in their lamplights, and home schooling for their barefoot children.
Just as the Bible had been clutched to the bosoms of pioneers riding their wagons out west two centuries earlier, so too was there a bound tome that these escapist smallholders clutched to their bosoms in the 1970s. That book was Mrs Grieves’ Modern Herbal.
It is easy to understand why. Nature was a foreign land. There was no Google to look up for an explanation. What plants would kill you? Which one’s would make you well? How to recognize them; to handle them; to avoid or preserve them? Mrs Grieve — all 888 pages of her — was there to hold your hand through the dark days and nights.
I know, because I had a copy, and when my wife left me she took it. So, it was with great relief that I was able to buy this new edition on Amazon and open the first entry to read of Abscess Root that its Medicinal Action and Uses were: “Astringent, alterative, diaphoretic, expectorant. The drug has been recommended for use in febrile and inflammatory cases, all scrofulous diseases, in bowel complaints requiring an astringent, for the bites of venomous snakes and insects, for bronchitis and laryngitis, and whenever an alterative is required.”
At last, I feel safe again.
August 31, 2019
What a marvelous find and a great resource to have for anyone. This collection of every plant you could possibly want to know about, gives history, medicinal uses, description, cultivation, sometimes even poems, and a few pictures.
Here’s a little fun snippet about Meadowsweet which is a wildflower. It’s one of 50 ingredients in a drink called “Save” mentioned in Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale.
Gerard says:
‘ It is reported that the floures boiled in wine and drunke do take away the fits of a quartaine ague and make the heart merrie. The distilled water of the floures dropped into the eies taketh away the burning and itching thereof and cleareth the sight. ‘.
You can see this wasn’t written recently but it is such great fun to read.
Here’s a little fun snippet about Meadowsweet which is a wildflower. It’s one of 50 ingredients in a drink called “Save” mentioned in Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale.
Gerard says:
‘ It is reported that the floures boiled in wine and drunke do take away the fits of a quartaine ague and make the heart merrie. The distilled water of the floures dropped into the eies taketh away the burning and itching thereof and cleareth the sight. ‘.
You can see this wasn’t written recently but it is such great fun to read.
February 10, 2017
Many entries, but most of them seemed archaic. Seemed to be focused on one particular school of herbalism (I didn't see many chinese herbals for example). Also didn't have much useful information and the information that was there was written for more advanced practioners
June 16, 2018
Still a fantastic (2 volume) sed of monographs. Should be on every herbalist's shelf.
September 23, 2018
Excellent reference book
February 3, 2019
A classic known to herbalists as "Ma Grieve's". Still pertinent and a great place to begin your research.
April 7, 2019
Love this
April 6, 2014
I cannot say I have read this book, as it is more of a reference book, and something I continuously refer to. I don't think I will ever read this in its entirety as is it Enormous. In my opinion this is the best herbal available, with Shipards a close second (only second due to lesser number of herbs). Definitely recommended.
August 6, 2011
Excellent reference book, with good historical information on each herb, that is difficult to find in more modern texts.. A must have if you are a herbalist or practitioner dispensing herbal formulations.
June 21, 2007
This is THE reference book to own if you are interested in herbs. A classic.
January 6, 2008
THE herbal.
April 13, 2008
This is a classic.
Currently Reading
February 9, 2009I've had this as a reference book for a long time now and will i think always be reading it
Currently Reading
April 6, 2012This book will most likely take me a lifetime to get all the way through. So I think I'll probably keep it on my list as a permanent fixture. There's so much to learn here!
August 27, 2014
Full of pertinent information along with some dubious refrences, useful if dated text for most herbs.
January 21, 2012
Very Good resource book.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews