Orchid Muse: A History of Obsession in Fifteen Flowers

Orchids, known for their beauty, have inspired poetry, adventure, art, and scientific discovery. In Orchid Muse, historian and home orchid grower Erica Hannickel explores the stories of orchid-smitten individuals throughout history, including Empress Eugénie and Queen Victoria, John Roebling, and Raymond Burr, and offers tips on growing these exotic blooms. The book spans the world, from Amazonian journeys to Gilded Age New York and the island of Bourbon.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 03 February 2023
Publisher: WW Norton & Co

Orchids, the epitome of floral beauty, have long inspired poetry, adventure, art, and scientific discovery. In Orchid Muse, historian and home orchid grower Erica Hannickel brings together fascinating tales of orchid-smitten throughout history, along with tips on growing the exotic blooms at the center of each account. Consider, for instance, Empress Eugénie and Queen Victoria, the two most powerful women in nineteenth-century Europe, who shared a passion for Coelogyne cristata. John Roebling, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, and Raymond Burr, the actor famed for playing Perry Mason, cultivated thousands of orchids, introducing captivating new and unusual species. Transporting the reader from hazardous Amazonian journeys to a seedy dime museum in Gilded Age New Yorks Tenderloin, from the glories of the palace gardens of Chinese Empress Cixi to the island of Bourbon, where the vanilla orchid thrives, Orchid Muse spans the world, exploring our enduring fascination with these exquisite flowers.

Orchids, the epitome of floral beauty, have long inspired poetry, adventure, art, and scientific discovery. In Orchid Muse, historian and home orchid grower Erica Hannickel brings together fascinating tales of orchid-smitten throughout history, along with tips on growing the exotic blooms at the center of each account. Consider, for instance, Empress Eugénie and Queen Victoria, the two most powerful women in nineteenth-century Europe, who shared a passion for Coelogyne cristata. John Roebling, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, and Raymond Burr, the actor famed for playing Perry Mason, cultivated thousands of orchids, introducing captivating new and unusual species. Transporting the reader from hazardous Amazonian journeys to a seedy dime museum in Gilded Age New Yorks Tenderloin, from the glories of the palace gardens of Chinese Empress Cixi to the island of Bourbon, where the vanilla orchid thrives, Orchid Muse spans the world, exploring our enduring fascination with these exquisite flowers.

Weight: 970g
Dimension: 242 x 165 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780393867282