Description
Book SynopsisFlora's Empire brings new light to the complex history of British imperialism in India and its post-Independence legacy. Aided by beautiful period illustrations, it focuses on three centuries of official, domestic, and botanical gardens, as well as on memorial gardens and restorations of Muslim and Hindu sites.
Trade Review"An excellent history of British gardens in India. . . . [Herbert] writes with gentle wit, elegance and love of her subject which are rare in books on garden history." *
Financial Times *
"I found myself entertained on every page. Herbert's achievement is that under the guise of a study of Britannia's role as gardener she has written a thoroughly scholarly-indeed, groundbreaking, in every sense of the word-history of the British entanglement in India. She has flung her net far and wide, and drawn in a wealth of unfamiliar sources, both exotic and homely, to build up a rich tapestry of the Indian landscape. . . . full of insights and wonderfully readable,
Flora's Empire is as much a treat for the general reader as it is for those who relish 'the glory of the garden.'" * Charles Allen, editor of
Plain Tales from the Raj *
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction: Cowslips and Lotuses
PART I. GARDENERS ABROAD
Chapter 1. From Garden House to Bungalow, Nabobs to Heaven-Born
Chapter 2. Calcutta and the Gardens of Barrackpore
Chapter 3. Over the Hills and Far Away: The Hill Stations of India
PART II. GARDENS OF EMPIRE
Chapter 4. Eastward in Eden: Botanical Imperialism and Imperialists
Chapter 5. Gardens of Memory
Chapter 6. The Taj and the Raj: Restoring the Taj Mahal
Chapter 7. Imperial Delhi: City of Gardens
Chapter 8. Imperial New Delhi: The Garden City
Chapter 9. The Legacy
Conclusion: Garden Imperialism
Common Trees, Shrubs, and Plants in India South of the Himalayas
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
