This book is described as a new edition of The English Garden in our Time from Gertrude Jekyll to Geoffrey Jellicoe (1986), which, technically, it is, though most of what appeared originally remains the same. Readers should not be misled by the blurb which states that the book “has been thoroughly revised”: it has indeed been revised but the revisions relate principally to the illustrations, where there are more coloured illustrations and indeed more illustrations in total. Most of the illustrations which appeared in the first edition reappear, though in many cases in a different size. The layout of the text has been adjusted in places, indicating a resetting, and minor content changes have occurred. Pagination has increased from 272 to 278 pages, the additional space having been consumed by illustrations. There is a new dust jacket, the book is covered in a woven rather than a non‐woven material and pictorial endpapers have been added. The layout of the book is almost the same as in the earlier edition, although the acknowledgements are now located at the back of the book. There is a new foreword to the new edition. A useful new addition to the work is the introduction of running chapter heads, and the use of bold type in the index to refer to illustrations in place of the italic previously used is an improvement for the user.
The principal revisions in the new edition relate to the selected readings at the end of each chapter: these have been brought up to date. The title of Chapter 2 has become “The arts and crafts garden”, following the example set by the revised edition of Gardens for Small Country Houses, originally published in 1912, which became Arts and Crafts Gardens in the Garden Art Press edition of 1997. It was in this work that Jane Brown provided a useful introduction to “The arts and crafts movement and the country house garden”. The term “arts and crafts garden” is now accepted in garden literature for gardens of the period 1890‐1914. As is usual with Garden Art Press publications, the quality of physical production is high with excellent monochrome and coloured illustrations.
It must be said that it is likely that anyone possessing the 1986 edition would find it difficult to justify paying £25 for the new The English Garden through the 20th Century. For those libraries not possessing the earlier edition of the work under review, then this will provide a valuable addition to stock. It is relevant to garden designers and to garden historians as well as to the many individuals with a general interest in the subject. The book is consequently significant to a wide range of different types of libraries.
