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The Paper Garden: An Artist Begins Her Life's Work at 72 Audiobook
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(3.05) - 326 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In The Paper Garden, celebrated poet Molly Peacock explores the remarkable life of 18th-century British gentlewoman-turned-artist Mary Delany. In the 1770s, at the age of 72, the twice-widowed and nearly broke Delany turned her interest in botany into beautiful paper "mosaick" flowers still revered today. ". not only an introduction to a unique artist, but also a whole bouquet of thoughts and observations about the flow of life."-Washington Post
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"This is quite a remarkable story of Mary Delany who was born in 1700 and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Handel and Jonathan Swift. At the age of 72 she began creating works of art using paper which depicted flowers she observed in her gardens. These incredibly detailed pieces, almost 1000 of them, can be found in the British Museum. The author writes in great detail, sometimes to the point of distraction. She also includes her own story which is distracting and takes away from the main character's story but it is a very interesting book. One can get lost in the life like illustrations of flowers."
— Anne (5 out of 5 stars)
The Paper Garden Listener Reviews
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" Christmas present. Beautiful work, lent to mum "
— Julian, 2/18/2014 -
" interesting story -- her flower collages are amazing "
— Carol, 2/16/2014 -
" A magical book! Molly Peacock tells the life of Mary Delany, the creator of collage, in a poetic manner bursting with beautiful details. She reveals details of her own life as she describes Mrs. Delany's fanciful but accurate flower collages. "
— Chris, 2/9/2014 -
" A book group book that I was not looking forward to, but now I'm two chapters into it and I'm enjoying it. Molly Peacock is a poet which may account for the structure of this book. It doesn't move along very briskly, but then neither did Mrs. Delaney. "
— Mary, 1/21/2014 -
" The publisher did a beautiful job producing this book, and it is a joy to read. I had never heard of the subject of this book before, but by the end I couldn't wait to learn more about her. A fascinating story. "
— Marla, 1/21/2014 -
" Lovely book design. In-depth background on Mary Delany's marriages and her place in Georgian society. However, I wish the author had refrained from potty mouth. "
— Lorraine, 1/13/2014 -
" I thought this is among the best books I have ever read. Clear, beautiful writing. Mrs Delany is a woman to be admired and emulated. Molly Peacock combines her life stories with her tracing Mrs Delany's and the result is moving. "
— Jane, 1/1/2014 -
" So inspiring. Loved it. Will read parts of it again and again. Gives me hope that a creative life is still possible when I retire in a year or so. Old age is just a state of mind. "
— Diane, 12/28/2013 -
" This is a biography/autobiography. I loved the Mrs. Delaney parts, which were historically fascinating and creatively inspiring, but didn't care for the Ms. Peacock parts, which seemed a bit self serving. "
— Beth, 12/19/2013 -
" Beautiful descriptive writing about a fascinating woman "
— Lara, 12/17/2013 -
" so cool. the art work is in th e British Museum. "
— Marilyn, 4/30/2013 -
" Written by a poet and exhaustively detailed, this is a lovely picture of 18thC life-albeit the life of an extraordinary woman. After the death of her 2nd husband she invented a new art form: mixed-media collage. Her works are now in The British Museum. "
— JoEllen, 3/12/2013 -
" I absolutely loved this book. Part biography of an artist, part memoir of the author, it's also a meditation on art and craft, and what it means to be a creative person. I picked it up on a whim when I happened to see it at the library, and I'm very glad I did. "
— Cara, 2/22/2013 -
" Liked the subject but thought the attempts to make analogies between stages of Mrs. Delany's life and her flower portraits tiresome - it was overdone. I'd like to read a more straightforward account of Mary Delany and her life and work. "
— Ginnie, 11/8/2012
About Molly Peacock
Molly Peacock, biographer and distinguished poet, is the author of The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72, as well as seven volumes of poetry, including The Analyst: Poems. She is an arts activist and, with a friend, started what became a cultural institution in New York City: Poetry in Motion on the subways and buses. She is a former Leon Levy Center for Biography Fellow and a dual American and Canadian citizen.
About Jill Tanner
Jill Tanner was a principal actress with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival for eight years and has appeared in many classical and new American plays. She has been in productions on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in most major theaters in the United States.