Reading a historical novel aloud makes its period immediate. Names acquire breath, sentences change the pace of a room, and the reader must decide what matters…
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Molly Peacock’s tips for reading The Paper Garden aloud
Mrs Delany’s early and late collage techniques
The differences between Mrs Delany’s early and late collage techniques reveal a career in constant conversation with paper. At seventy-two, Mary Delany began…
Paper flowers: beauty beyond the season
During the long Georgian winter, fresh flowers could be scarce, costly and quick to fade. Women who wanted colour in their rooms turned to paper, cutting,…
Mrs Delany’s correspondence with Sir Joseph Banks
Molly Peacock’s The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72 brings a late-life experiment into focus. Mary Delany, an English artist and…
The book reviews that changed the reception of The Paper Garden
Molly Peacock’s The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72 follows Mary Delany from the drawing rooms and family obligations of Georgian…
How to start your own paper collage garden inspired by Mrs. Delany
Molly Peacock’s The Paper Garden recounts how Mary Delany, an English artist with a passion for plants, began creating intricate botanical collages at 72.…
Molly Peacock and the Ethics of Writing Real Lives
Molly Peacock’s thoughts on the ethics of writing about real historical figures are clearest in the choices made in The Paper Garden, her historical novel…
The floor plan of Mrs. Delany’s studio: reconstructing her workspace
At seventy-two, Mary Delany began turning coloured and painted papers into a “paper garden” of botanical collages. Reconstructing her workspace is therefore as…
How faith shaped Mrs. Delany’s choice of subjects
Elizabeth Delany built an artistic life from paper, scissors and close attention to the natural world. Her pictures brought together flowers, insects, birds,…
Mrs Delany’s milestones before she started her collages
Mrs Delany’s famous botanical collages did not emerge from formal art training or a purpose-built studio. Mary Granville, born in Wiltshire in 1700, reached…