At once delicate, exotic, and elegant, orchids are beloved for their
singular, instantly recognizable beauty. Found in nearly every climate,
the many species of orchid have carried symbolic weight in countless
cultures over time. The ancient Greeks associated them with fertility
and thought that parents who ingested orchid root tubers could control
the sex of their child. During the Victorian era, orchids became deeply
associated with romance and seduction. And in twentieth-century
hard-boiled detective stories, they transformed into symbols of
decadence, secrecy, and cunning. What is it about the orchid that has
enthralled the imagination for so many centuries? And why do they still
provoke so much wonder?
Following the stories of orchids throughout history, Jim Endersby
divides our attraction to them into four key themes: science, empire,
sex, and death. When it comes to empire, for instance, orchids are a
prime example of the exotic riches sought by Europeans as they shaped
their plans for colonization. He also reveals how Charles Darwin's
theory of evolution became intimately entangled with the story of the
orchid as he investigated their methods of cross-pollination. As he
shows, orchids--perhaps because of their extraordinarily diverse colors,
shapes, and sizes--have also bloomed repeatedly in films, novels, plays,
and poems, from Shakespeare to science fiction, from thrillers to
elaborate modernist novels.
Featuring many gorgeous illustrations from the collection of the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew, Orchid: A Cultural History tells, for the first
time, the extraordinary story of orchids and our prolific interest in
them. It is an enchanting tale not only for gardeners and plant
collectors, but anyone curious about the flower's obsessive hold on the
imagination in history, cinema, literature, and more.
