The Gardener's Year

Karel Capek, Robert Weatherall (Translated by), Marie Weatherall (Translated by), Josef Capek (Illustrator)

$14.99

Publication Date: April 25th, 2023

Publisher:

Macmillan Collector's Library

ISBN:

9781529096248

Pages:

176

Usually Ships in 1 to 5 Days

Description

The Gardener’s Year is a charming and light-hearted insight into the life of an amateur gardener. Structured loosely around what to plant, grow or cultivate each month, Karel Capek takes us on a rollicking journey through a year in his own small garden.

Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features lively black and white illustrations by Czech artist Josef Capek and is translated by M. and R. Weatherall.

From making puddles with an untamable hose to sowing luxuriant weeds instead of grass, Capek reveals how a gardener grows into his surroundings ‘spurred on by each new failure’. Subverting the tradition of a ‘how to’ gardening book, he teaches his readers about the magic of seeds, the perils of planting vegetables and the thrilling surprises of a rock garden. As the year progresses and frail buds turn from flowering stems to drooping bulbs and falling leaves, Capek’s small garden buzzes with life, wisdom and humour.

About the Author

Karel Capek was born in 1890 in Czechoslovakia. He was interested in visual art as a teenager and studied philosophy and aesthetics in Prague. During WW1 he was exempt from military service because of spinal problems and became a journalist. He campaigned against the rise of communism and in the 1930s his writing became increasingly anti-fascist. He started writing fiction with his brother Josef, a successful painter, and went on to publish science fiction novels, for which he is best known, as well as detective stories, plays and a singular book on gardening, The Gardener’s Year. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times and the Czech PEN Club created a literary award in his name. He died of pneumonia in 1938.