At the age of seventy-two, Mary Delany, n�e Mary Granville (1700-1788), embarked upon a series of nearly a thousand botanical collages, or "paper mosaics,” which would prove to be the crowning achievement of her rich creative life. These delicate hand-cut floral designs, made by a method of Mrs. Delany’s own invention, vie with the finest botanical works of her time. More than two centuries later her extraordinary work continues to inspire. Although best known for these collages, Mrs. Delany was also an amateur artist, woman of fashion, and commentator on life and society in 18th-century England and Ireland. Her prolific craft activities not only served to cement personal bonds of friendship, but also allowed her to negotiate the interconnecting artistic, aristocratic, and scientific networks that surrounded her. This ambitious and groundbreaking book, the first to survey the full range of Mrs. Delany’s creative endeavors, reveals the complexity of her engagement with natural science, fashion, and design.

Traces the life and accomplishments of septuagenarian artist Mary Delany, describing her invention of the art of collage late in life after two heart-breaking marriages, in an account that also evaluates the roles of her relationships with such figures as Jonathan Swift, the Duchess of Portland and King George III. 35,000 first printing.

The first comprehensive biography of Mary Granville Delany - the artist and court insider whose flower collages, in particular, continue to inspire widespread admiration Mrs Delany is best remembered for her captivating paper collages of flowers, but her artistic flourishing came late in life. This nuanced, deeply researched biography pulls back the lens to place Delany's art in the broader context of her family life, relationships with royalty, and her endeavor to live as an independent woman. Clarissa Campbell Orr, a noted authority on the eighteenth century court, charts Mary Delany's development from a young woman at the heart of elite circles to beloved godmother and celebrated collagist. Orr traces the varied connections Mary Delany fostered throughout her life and which influenced her intellectual and artistic development: she was friends with prominent figures such as Methodist leader, John Wesley, composer G. F. Handel, the writer Jonathan Swift, and England's leading patron of science, Margaret Bentinck, Duchess of Portland. Mrs Delany reveals its subject to be far more than a widow befriended by George III and Queen Charlotte; she is, instead, restored to her proper place in the era's aristocratic society -and as a ground-breaking artist.

Mark Laird offers a wealth of visual and literary materials to revolutionize our understanding of the English landscape garden as a powerful cultural expression.

Just in time for Sherlock Holmes's 166th birthday, the fifth installment in national bestselling author Vicki Delany's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery takes Sherlockania to the max with a Holmes convention and historic 221 Baker Street. Gemma Doyle and her friends travel to London for a Sherlock Holmes convention--but will Gemma's father take the fall for a felonious forger's fatality? The 6th of January is Sherlock Holmes's birthday, and lucky for Gemma Doyle, January is also the slowest time of the year at both the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, and Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room. It's a good time for Gemma and her friends to travel to England for a Holmes Convention. For Gemma, the trip provides an opportunity to visit her parents, Jayne Wilson is excited about seeing all the sites London has to offer, and Ryan Ashburton just wants to spend some time with Gemma. But the trip is immediately derailed when Gemma's father Henry recognizes his brother-in-law Randolph Denhaugh, who disappeared more than thirty years ago on the night he stole a valuable painting from his own parents. Henry, a retired detective with Scotland Yard, has been keeping tabs on the man's career as a forger of Old Masters and he warns Randy to stay away from his family. It's up to Gemma, with the help of her friends, to plunge into the "lowest and vilest alleys" of London to save her father from prison.

Devon Delaney cannot believe she's lying again. But the thing is, she couldn't help it. Her new boyfriend, Luke, is talking to his (gorgeous) ex-girlfriend, Bailey Barelli (!!!), every single day in mock trial. Devon couldn't just stand by and let him find out that she'd never dated anyone else before. Could she? Oopsie. Too late now. To show how totally unaffected she is by Bailey's obvious Luke hang-up, Devon invents a fake ex-boyfriend of her own: Greg. Fab! What could go wrong? But it isn't long before Devon finds herself in the middle of another supergigantic lie. Can Devon come clean in time to keep the guy? Or will she lose everything due to another lie?