Andrea Wulf

Georgian Group, London, 6 May 2008

I'm giving a talk at the Georgian Group, London about The Brother Gardeners and Georgian landscape garden which was transformed by 'my' protagonists. They ‘transplanted’ America to England, introducing the lustrous evergreens, fiery autumn foliage and colourful shrubs that shaped the Georgian landscape; they brought science and rational thought to horticulture; and risked their lives to find new exotic blooms and towering trees.

For tickets please click on this link for the Georgian Group's website

Chelsea Physic Garden, 14 May 2008

I'm giving a talk for the Friends of the Chelsea Physic Garden. One of the protagonist of The Brother Gardeners was Philip Miller, the head gardener from 1721 to 1771. I will be discussing the role of Miller in the garden revolution in the 18th century.

Review Guardian: My Dearest Friend. Letters of Abigail and John Adams, edited by Margaret A. Hogan and C. James Taylor

The Guardian, 8 December 2007: The second president of the United States, John Adams, began his professional life as a farmer and lawyer in Boston, before he became a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774. He was among the first to call for secession, and later was one of the chief negotiators of the peace treaty after the war of independence. He was America's first vice-president (under George Washington) and finally held the top office itself.

What distinguished Adams from fellow founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington was his temperament: while they exuded an air of sophistication and glacial reserve, he was high-spirited, impetuous and prone to emotional outbursts. He could be self-doubting, fiercely angry, affectionate, vain and stubborn. He was neither elegant nor poised, and when he was frustrated he worked off his anger about political opponents by digging and shouting obscenities in his garden and fields.

Link to full review