Book Reviews: Briefly Noted
Shakespeare’s Flowers. Kerr, J. 1969; reprinted 1997. ISBN 1-55566-202-1 (paper US$14.00) 86 pp. Johnson Books, 1880 South 57th Court, Boulder, CO 80301. - Shakespeare’s Flowers, written by Jessica Kerr and illustrated by Anne Ophelia Dowden, is a beautiful and delightful book recently reissued by Johnson Books. Full of drawings and full-color botanical portraits, this volume guides the reader through the various plants which play prominent or frequent roles in the plays of Shakespeare. The text frequently includes speculation about the encounters which Shakespeare himself may have had with the plants in question while considering the general significance of each species for English cooking and culture during the Elizabethan Age. With its light tone and clear writing, Shakespeare’s Flowers both educates and entertains. Its level is appropriate for anyone from an amateur gardener to a professional working in the plant sciences, and it would take an appropriate place on the reading list for non-majors courses in biology or botany. Buy a copy. - Douglas Darnowski, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana
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