Famous for classic adventure novels such as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas is one of the most popular French authors of all time. Set in the Netherlands during the 17th century, The Black Tulip follows young bourgeoisie Cornelius van Baerle as he attempts to claim the prize set by the city of Haarlem for growing the rare black tulip. On the cusp of victory, Cornelius is instead tossed into prison, where he meets the prison guard's daughter and begins a relationship that may eventually lead to his rescue.
Clear, step-by-step illustrations show youngsters and other would-be artists how to use simple shapes to draw realistic likenesses of 30 different garden flowers, among them a sunflower, daisy, rose, morning glory, tulip, daffodil, poinsettia, Easter lily, pansy, jack-in-the-pulpit, bird of paradise, iris, and 18 other lovely blossoms.
The Botany of Desire: A Plants-Eye View of the World (Audiobook, MP3)
In 1637, one Dutchman paid as much for a single tulip bulb as the going price of a town house in Amsterdam. Three and a half centuries later, Amsterdam is once again the mecca for people who care passionately about one particular plant — thought this time the obsessions revolves around the intoxicating effects of marijuana rather than the visual beauty of the tulip. How could flowers, of all things, become such objects of desire that they can drive men to financial ruin?
The Pink Carnation, history's most elusive spy and England's only hope for preventing a Napoleonic invasion, returns in Lauren Willig's dazzling imaginative new historical romance.
Rebellion is brewing in Ireland, egged on by the unquenchable Black Tulip. The Pink Carnation and Geoffrey Pinchingdale-Snipe (formerly of the League of the Purple Gentian) are on the case. But as the Irish uprising draws nearer and the Black Tulip grows bolder, Geoff finds himself struggling with a very different sort of problem. An unexpected wife.