Pteridomania or Fern Fever took a frantic hold in Britain from the 1840s. It was a craze fostered by an array of books and magazines and special equipment designed for fern hunting trips and the cultivation of the finds in delicate fern cases.
Sarah Whittingham has searched every nook and cranny for her subject, finding ferns in splendid glazed ferneries, Pulhamite grottoes and decoratively across every imaginable surface in the Victorian home. You would sit on your Coalbrookdale 'Fern and blackberry' garden bench and sup from your Ridgway 'Maiden Hair Fern' dinner service.
The industrious Victorians lavished much love and care (and knowledge) on their beautiful fern albums. This ravishing book shines a sympathetic light on an enthusiasm that looks as if it might well take hold again.
Whittingham charts this charming horticultural craze in a delightfully illustrated book. - Bookseller
You don't have to love ferns to enjoy this book, but I guarantee you'll see them in a whole new light after reading it. - English Garden
This must be the definitive work on Pteridomania… Make room in your bookcase for it now! - British Pteridological Society
There is much to learn from this book, not only about ferns but about a period in British history that continues to influence a nation's culture to this day. It is written with great clarity, is beautifully illustrated and skilfully edited. - BBC Gardens Illustrated
Publication Details:
Binding: Hardback, 240 pages ISBN: 9780711230705 Format: 287mm x 230mm
150 illustrations in colour and b/w
BIC Code:WMP BISAC Code:GAR000000 Imprint: Frances Lincoln
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