Shakespeare’s Garden by Jackie Bennett

Shakespeare’s Garden by Jackie Bennett with photos by Andrew Lawson is a photo essay of the gardens that Shakespeare may have been familiar with as he was writing his plays and sonnets. Plants and flowers were common in his works and Bennett tries to describe the gardens of the day and those he may have seen.

(The photo on the cover is indicative of the numerous photos throughout the book.)

Gardens in Shakespeare’s time served many purposes. Ornamental gardens were just being introduced. Most gardens served a purpose–to feed a family, to produce herbs and plants for medicinal purposes, to feed livestock. As Shakespeare’s popularity and fame increased, he traveled between London and Stratford on Avon. He came into contact with royalty and commoners. As a result, he would have been familiar with both royal gardens as well as common gardens of the working class. He would also have been familiar with the medical and household uses of many of herbs and flowers.

Many of the Shakespeare properties have been purchased by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) and have been restored. Shakespeare’s Garden was published in association with the Trust.

Per the publisher: “From his birthplace in Henley Street, to his childhood playground at Mary Arden’s Farm, to his courting days at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and his final home at New Place – where he created a garden to reflect his fame and wealth. Cared for by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, these gardens are continually evolving to reflect our ongoing knowledge of his life. The book will also explore the plants that Shakespeare knew and wrote about in 17th century England: their use in his work and the meanings that his audiences would have picked up on…”

While the narrative describes the gardens and there are tidbits of botanic quotes from Shakespeare’s plays, it is the photos that bring everything to life. Andrew Lawson’s photos will make gardeners drool. While I was hoping for more of an explanation of the meanings of the flowers and plants Shakespeare used in his works, and there was little of that in Shakespeare’s Garden, I was not disappointed by the book. I wish I could have a fraction of one of the gardens photographed in the book. Shakespeare’s Garden is definitely worth the time. It is totally enjoyable.

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Shakespeare’s Flowers by Jessica Kerr

Here’s another floral gem of a book about flowers and their names and uses, Shakespeare’s Flowers by Jessica Kerr and illustrated by Anne Ophelia Donden. Let’s recap for a second, though. We have Who Named the Daisy, Who Named the Rose by Mary Durant and A Garden of Words by Martha Barnette.

Kerr, an expert of flowers in Elizabethan England, picks a dozen or two flowers, prints excerpts from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets and explains what it means, what the flowers were used for and how they might have made their ways into English gardens. As you can see from the illustrations shown here, they are marvelous.

For instance, did you know that the rose, shown here, was mentioned in Two Noble Kinsmen, Love’s Labors Lost, The Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet as well as Romeo and Juliet? As a matter of fact, Shakespeare mentions it 70 times in his plays and sonnets. It is so beloved that it never had another name? And the dew from rose petals was used  in making costly cosmetics. And of course, the rose is symbolic of the 32 year War of the Roses.

Kerr covers the well known flowers such as daisies, violets, and marigolds and herbs such as rosemary, thyme and spearmint. She also picks less common ones, such as rue. She even discusses weeds. When you rue something you regret it or want to repent. This is associated with bitterness and rue has a bitter, sour flavor. Herbs such as rosemary and rue are still carried in the processions of the Lord Mayor of London, a carryback to when it was thought of as a preventative against the plague and “…a little nosegay of rue is placed beside a judge in court to this day.”

I find it fascinating how flowers and herbs all had medicinal value ‘in the old days’ and sometimes I wonder how much better off we really are with big pharmaceuticals. It is amazing the traditions and rituals that arose from the belief in the medical, spiritual and superstitious powers of flowers.

To close this, if you are at all interested in flowers and the etymology of their names, Shakespeare’s Flowers would be a welcome addition to your library.

 

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Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs

As I was reading Breakfast Served Anytime, Sarah Combs’ debut novel, I wasn’t sure what I thought of it. I liked the beginning, got a little bogged down in the middle and then had the epiphany at the end. The book is going to mean different things to different people.

Kentucky born and raised, Gloria Bishop got accepted to Geek Camp, sponsored by the University of Kentucky for four weeks after her junior year. Her course: Secrets of the Written Word. Trying to attract and retain in Kentucky its best students, those accepted get a full four year scholarship upon graduating high school. Gloria’s best friend, Caroline, is off to New York for ballet during the summer, the plan being that they both hit the Big City for college.

Gloria is, however, a shy girl and finds anticipation of exciting and extraordinary events sometimes more exciting than the events themselves. Upon checking into her dorm, she immediately forms judgments on her roommate, Jessica, (rich, confident, huggy and not Gloria’s type) and the first guy she sees from her dorm window, nicknamed the Mad Hatter, for obvious reasons (obnoxious, self-absorbed). It turns at that the Mad Hatter is one of four people in Secrets of the Written Word. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.

However, in one respect I will give a spoiler. Although this takes place in high school, it reminded me of middle school and Merle J (I wonder where she is now). Somehow, we decided that Merle was my ‘best enemy’.  We used to taunt and torment each other constantly throughout middle school…yet always with an underlying smile. I wonder what that really meant. So Merle, if you’re reading…. (I’ll let you guess who I’m referring to in the book.)

I can’t remember if I’ve ever read a book taking place in Kentucky. So, while writing a book about camaraderie and friendship, Combs also manages to throw in the issue of coal mining vs. the environment in a manner many of us don’t typically think about.

I’m not going to comment on the Breakfast Served Anytime part of the book. You can find out for yourselves its significance. Neither will I comment on the blue butterflies on the cover, other than to say that, according to the book, they have a life span of 115 days.

So, my final thoughts on Breakfast Served Anytime? I liked it, primarily because it brought back memories that I hadn’t thought about in decades…and pleasant memories at that. For you ‘mature’ YA lit readers, I’d love to know what memories the book might have rekindled. And, for you YA YA lit readers (if I have any following this blog), I’d like to know the same thing. Lastly, what can be bad about a place serving breakfast any time?

Having said that, I’m off to bake Snikerdoodles. A place serving dessert any time can’t be bad either, huh?

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The Tragedy of King Lear

New York’s Public Theater is an awe inspiring building.  And the productions are equally awe inspiring.  Sunday’s performance of King Lear was my first time at the theater and also my first time seeing King Lear.  What a day it was!

Someone asked me whether seeing Sam Waterston as Lear was like seeing an episode of Law & Order. Nothing can be further from the truth.  Waterston was as tragic a Lear as you can get.  When he talked about how his power hungry daughters, Regan and Goneril, brought him to his knees, you felt his pain. And when he walked in at the end carrying Cordelia, well, it brought a tear to my eye.

The set was minimalistic, with bare white walls and few props. But props weren’t needed because audience eyes were focused on Lear and Kent and Gloucester (played convincingly by Michael McKean of Laverne & Shirley fame). Most of the actors I had not heard of, but the cast was well chosen (although I didn’t love the Fool because he swallowed his words).  Two more heartless daughters you couldn’t imagine, though.

If you can, see King Lear at the Public Theater.  While I’d say treat yourself to a tragedy, it just doesn’t sound right. But treat yourself anyway.

http://www.publictheater.org/component/option,com_shows/task,view/Itemid,141/id,1038

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