A photographic book on this unique British plant,
by Lynden Swift.
Coming Soon.
“This crafty and malignant antediluvian vegetable”, was how Lords and Ladies was described in 1899 when it was believed that it’s red berries had evolved to poison birds that ate of them to become “huge manure heaps for the growth of the young plant”. A crafty and malignant plant indeed.
Containing over 50 stunning photographs showcasing this unique British plant, The Secret Life of Lords and Ladies explores the history, the mythology and the fascination which this plant has held for us since ancient times.
Known as Bishops Finger, Dogs Dibble and Fairy Lamps, and a host of other local names, Arum Maculatum has always stirred our imaginations. The unmistakable sexual suggestiveness carried in the curves of its flowering parts has led to it being universally held to be a powerful aphrodisiac. Reflecting this bawdy sexuality the plant has inspired over 100 common names in English alone; more than any other British plant.
To know the Wild Arum is to steep one’s self in the history of our ongoing relationship with plants; to delve into the very roots of herbalism and botany and to take in the grand view of the long evolution of science and medicine. It is to go on a journey which begins in ancient Greece with the earliest herbal manuscripts ever written and ends with the latest botanical research into the physiology of plants. It is to step into the tradition of writing and publishing, taking in along the way the earliest encyclopaedias, much myth and folklore, Elizabethan high fashion, rampant plagiarism and hibernating bears. It’s quite a story.
It is a plant which has fired our imaginations down the centuries and which is still a potent symbol of the wild and mysterious side of nature.
The Secret Life of Lords and Ladies is being written as we speak. It is likely to be completed Autumn 2012. It is the first book written about the British Arum since Prime wrote his New Naturalist edition in the '60's.
Conceived initially as a photographic book, it now tells the tale of Arum's history in the ancient herbals, its role as a food in ancient and modern times, how it has supported fashion and industry, and its appearance in art and mythology. The book gives an overview of current botanical research on this fascinating plant and, of course, provides luscious photographs of the Arum in all its glory at each stage of its life cycle.
Email a request for a pre-order and receive a 25% discount off the final price upon publication.