As gardener and confidante to Sir Robert Cecil, John Tradescant is well
placed to observe the political changes that are about to sweep through the
kingdom. He witnesses the division between Parliament and the people, and the
most loyal of servants must find a way to become an independent squire. This is
a historical novel of the early 1600s.This is a tremendous historical novel of the early 1600s, as seen through
the eyes of John Tradescant, gardener to the great men of the age. A traveller
in a time of discovery, the greatest gardening pioneer of his day, yet a man of
humble birth: John Tradescant's story is a mirror to the extraordinary age in
which he lives. As gardener and confidante to Sir Robert Cecil, Tradescant is
well placed to observe the social and political changes that are about to sweep
through the kingdom. While his master conjures intrigues at Court, Tradescant
designs for him the magnificent garden at Hatfield, scouring the known world
for ever more wonderful plants: new varieties of fruit and flower, the first
horse chestnuts to be cultivated in England, even larches from Russia. Moving
to the household of the flamboyant Duke of Buckingham, Tradescant witnesses at
first hand the growing division between Parliament and the people; and the most
loyal of servants must find a way to become an independent squire.
