Mrs. Delany: Her Life and Her Flowers

Mary Delany's "paper mosaics" of flowers, made from hundreds of pieces of cut coloured paper, were the crowning achievement of a long and creative life. Mrs Delaney was 72 before she embarked on the 1000 flower collages, but she had already made a name for herself with her exquisite works of embroidery, decorative shellwork and landscape sketches. Through a study of Mrs Delany's correspondence, Ruth Hayden recaptures the atmosphere of privileged society in 18th-century England. Mrs Delany's perspective and lively letters to her sister Anne and her niece Mary reveal her often strong views on the events of the period and on the social life of her circle. Luminaries of social, political and artistic life enliven her correspondence. She was a friend of Handel and the correspondent of Swift. Her deep friendship with the Duchess of Portland brought her into contact with some of the greatest botanical artists and botanists of the time, including Sir Joseph Banks, who collected species from around the world.