Synopsis

Houghton Mifflin originally published this classic, written by a New England poet and illustrated by one of America's greatest impressionist painters, in 1894. Seven years ago, a slipcased facsimile gift edition introduced a new generation of readers to this American classic. Thaxter spent much of her life on the rocky, windy Isles of Shoals, off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her cottage was a salon for literary and artistic New Englanders, and her garden (which has recently been restored) was famous even before Childe Hassam chose it as a subject. In this book, Thaxter describes how she made a garden grow in this unlikely spot, despite having to ferry seedlings in a small boat across ten miles of stormy seas. All of Childe Hassam's paintings and chapter illuminations are retained in this paperback edition. And new readers will fall in love with Celia Thaxter's wonderfully readable text.

Annotation

This elegant and charming slipcased gift edition is for anyone who loves an island, a garden, the paintings of Childe Hassam, or exquisite bookmaking.

Biography

About the time the facsimile edition was first published, Celia Thaxter's garden was restored by volunteers according to the plans noted in this book. It is open to visitors through arrangements with Cornell University's marine laboratory on nearby Star Island, off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.