SKU: 8664388331

A Thing in Disguise

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A Thing in DisguiseA brilliantly conceived biography of Joseph Paxton, horticulturist to the Duke & Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth, architect of the Crystal Palace at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Victorian Age In the nineteenth century, which witnessed a revolution in horticulture and urban planning and architecture, Joseph Paxton, a man with no formal education, strode like a colossus. Head gardener at Chatsworth by the

A brilliantly conceived biography of Joseph Paxton, horticulturist to the Duke & Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth, architect of the Crystal Palace at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Victorian Age

In the nineteenth century, which witnessed a revolution in horticulture and urban planning and architecture, Joseph Paxton, a man with no formal education, strode like a colossus. Head gardener at Chatsworth by the age of twenty-three, and encouraged by the sixth Duke of Devonshire whose patronage soon flourished into the defining friendship of his life, Paxton set about transforming this Derbyshire estate into the greatest garden in England. Visitors there were astonished by the enormous glasshouses and ambitious waterworks he built, the collection of orchids, the largest in all England, the dwarf bananas and the gargantuan lily, the trees and plants brought back from all over the world. Queen Victoria came to marvel and, increasingly, with the development of the railway in which Paxton was also involved, daytrippers from all over the country.

It was the Crystal Palace, home of the Great Exhibition in 1851, that secured Paxton's fame. His design, initially doodled on a piece of blotting paper, was the architectural triumph of its time. Two thousand men worked for eight months to complete it. It was six times the size of St Paul's Cathedral, enclosed a space of 18 acres, and entertained six million visitors. By the time of his death fourteen years later, 'the busiest man in England' according to Dickens, was friends with Brunel and Stevenson and in constant demand to design public parks and gardens. His last, seemingly most eccentric project was for a Great Boulevard under glass, a crystal arcade that would connect all the main railway termini in London.

Drawing on exclusive access to Paxton's personal letters, Kate Colquhouns's remarkable biography is a compelling story of a man who typifies the Victorian ideal of self-improvement and a touching portrait of one of that era's great heroes.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 09/11/2009
ISBN: 9780007143542
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.76d
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SKU: 8664388331

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Grace
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
great for Simpsons fans and Christians with a sense of ...
Format: Hardcover
Hilarious, great for Simpsons fans and Christians with a sense of humor :)
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Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2014
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cormamin
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 5
Great gift!
Format: Hardcover
Really nice quality, good illustrations. My boyfriend loved it.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2016
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Guy P. Harrison
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 4
Funny and not too harsh
Format: Hardcover
This is a funny little book that even most religious people should be able to enjoy. It doesn't go too far in poking fun. A highlight is the peek inside Flanders' head where one can inspect the varioius compartments of his mind. --Guy P. Harrison, author of Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know About Our Biological Diversity and 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God -
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Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2008
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Chris F
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
Five Stars
Format: Hardcover
Awesome another cool piece to add to my collection.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2014
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D Hajdukovic
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
Five Stars
Format: Hardcover
Stupid sexy Flanders
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Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2014

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