A beautifully illustrated botanical companion to Shakespeare, pairing the flowers, herbs and plants that recur throughout the plays and poems with historical, literary and horticultural context. 

Elizabethan gardens, herbal remedies, folklore, cosmetics, food, court customs and the symbolic life of plants scattered throughout. Garlanded even.

Anne Ophelia Dowden’s full-page and marginal illustrations give the book the feel of an old naturalist’s volume rather than a conventional Shakespeare reference work, moving through roses, violets, cowslips, wildflowers and herbs while Kerr traces where and how they appear in the writing. It’s an unusual little intersection of literary criticism, botanical history and illustrated bookmaking — particularly good for readers interested in how metaphor begins in actual things.

Kestrel Books / Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1978. Eighth impression; first published 1969. Hardcover with dust jacket. Jacket shows scattered foxing, particularly to front panel, with light edge wear and age toning. Internally clean and bright; illustrations remain vivid and binding firm. Very good condition overall.