The Renaissance Garden in England

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First class academic garden history - Rated
A fine peice of garden history that shows up many publications in the field for the facile coffee table books they are. This thoroughly researched, lucidly written work places garden design squarely in its cultural and political context. The narrative is perhaps tighter in the 16th century chapters before the increasing rate of change of the 17th century makes it a little less coherant, but the only real quibble is that the author does not look at Tudor gardens beyond the royal palaces and prodigy houses nor how the design of great Jacobean gardens (particularly the royal gardens) filtered down to the lesser nobility. This might have given more examples to work with, even if it meant stretching the time frame slightly later.