The Art of Research . . . AKA Down the Rabbit Hole!

Andrea/Cara here, I have a hard act to follow this week, as on Monday Anne plied you with tea and scrumptious goodies, followed by Mary Jo hosting our birthday celebration on Wednesday, complete with cyber chocolate and champagne. By now you are all replete with sweets and good cheer . . . leaving me wondering what titillating fun I can offer.

Well, at the Wench birthday there was much mention of how you all enjoy jumping into the research rabbit holes with us—so let’s all get down and dirty on the subject of botanical illustration in early 1800s London!

 

As I have an art background, I’m always delighted when research leads me to a visual subject. I’m currently working on the third book of my Wrexford & Sloane historical mystery, and the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew figure into the plot. (I have to be a little careful here, as I don’t want to give away any spoilers.) I needed to know some details on botanical art of the era.

But before we burrow any deeper, allow me to pause for a bit of backstory. From some research I did for one of my older Cara Elliott romance novels, I was aware that one of the pioneers of turning the accurate depiction flora and fauna specimens into a real art form was a German woman named Maria Sibylla Merian (her art is at the top and to the right) who lived in the late 1600s. (I always love discovering that a historical woman was influential, and am happy to see that many of them are finally getting recognition—though there's still a long way to go.

Trained in art by her stepfather, the still life painter Jacob, she became fascinated by insects as a child and was one of the first artists to collect specimens and draw them from life. She gained recognition in her field and supported herself after divorcing her husband by teaching art in Amsterdam. Later in life she traveled to Surinam, in South America and published a book in 1701 on the country’s exotic insects, which earned her renown throughout Europe.

The 1700s saw the flowering of the Age of Exploration, especially in Britain, what with the East India merchant ships, the naval journeys of men like Captain Cook and the scientific expeditions funded by the Royal Society. One such voyage, a trip to the South Seas by Cook in 1769, in order to record the Transit of Venus included naturalist Sir Joseph Banks as part of the scientific crew members. ((By now many of you know Sir Joseph is a great favorite of mine for his curiosity and enthusiasm about the world around him . . . and I couldn’t resist having him make a cameo appearance in my new book)

Now, back to the rabbit hole! Banks was key in getting the Royal Botanical Gardens to commit to building a serious collections of plant specimens from around the world—and he started it by donating his own private collection brought back from his travels. As President of the Royal Society, one of England’s pre-eminent scientific institutions and informal advisor to King George III, he dispatched numerous expeditions and botanists around the world.

He also hired garden designers and —ta-da—botanical artists! (I love it when real life gives me exactly what I need for a story.) To whit, Banks was very impressed by the talent of Austrian artist Franz Bauer (in England he’s known as Francis Bauer) and hired him as “Botanick Painter to His Majesty” for the princely sum of 300 pounds per year. It turned out to be a great match. Bauer loved being at Kew, where he was constantly provided with new an interesting plants to draw and paint.

Following in the tradition of Merian, he was a stickler for accuracy and detail, but also imbued his art with a vitality that makes them not simply dry textbook renderings, but lively, inventive works of art. He was also one of the first artists to use a microscope in order to depict the anatomical structure of the plants he was drawing—which created works of great scientific value. When he died, his collection of drawing and paintings was bequeathed to King George IV and was presented to the British Museum in 1841 by Queen Victoria.

So, that’s a quick in and out on one of the many “Hmm, I wonder what information I can find on this . . .” moment that occur in planning—er, or in my case, pantsing—a book. (I’m utterly incapable of making a nice, tidy outline of how the protagonists get from point A to Point B, because I haven’t a clue until I start writing!

Since many of you expressed an interest in research rabbit holes, my question for you today is, what special subject would you like to see one of the Wenches explore? Between all of us, I’ll bet someone is thinking on your subject and just might oblige!

 

Comments

[Quantum]

I am quite interested in the use of plants as therapy for mental illness, and more generally as an aid to stress suppression and feeling good.

This week the Chelsea flower show has been in full swing where top garden designers construct gardens portraying some theme from life. The best show garden award this year was won by Chris Beardshaw, aiming to capture the work of the NSPCC in helping damaged children.

In my own garden I find that observing and working with plants definitely has a relaxing effect with the power to change lives. The interplay of color and form is fascinating and contrasts with the rather hard geometrical shapes and dull colors that tend to dominate modern cities.

Andrea,I loved the plant illustrations and was interested to learn that your next mystery is based on Kew gardens.... must look out for that one! I also recall that Norah Roberts had a trilogy based on gardens and some of my favorite paintings involve wild flowers and wild landscapes.I wonder if you see further potential in plants and gardens for more novels.

[Lillian Marek]

One of the lovely aspects of research rabbit holes is that almost anything ends up fascinating when you get down to the level of detail that brings the past to life. Discovering how William Hazlitt made his tea is the kind of thing I remember. (He was impatient and dumped a lot of tea into the pot, added boiling water, and promptly poured himself a cuppa. Rather wasteful, but…)
When people say they think history is boring, I suspect it is because they were taught history as a series of treaties and tariff laws.
I have yet to meet a rabbit hole that bored me.

[Mary T]

Usually, if there is some specific thing that I want to know more about, I usually jump in the rabbit hole myself. The internet is good for some things (smile).

What I find most interesting about the "rabbit hole" posts you ladies do, is that is is often something that I wouldn't even be thinking about myself, but suddenly becomes fascinating when presented with the details that you ladies go into.

In this post, I love the art work by Maria Sibylla Merian. I had never heard of her. I love it when I learn something new.

[Alison Y]

Lace making; fancy woven cloth; history of coffee and its arrival in England; history and making of mead and when did it lose popularity; hats; provisioning for long explorations and how were specimens protected and preserved. These are just a few that pop-up now.
I know I'll love reading what you might write about any of these topics or others. Thank you.

[Sue McCormick]

AS L:illian Marek says "I have yet to meet a rabbit hole that bored me."

When I was in school I hated to look up things in the dictionary — because there were so many fascinating words between my opening the book and my reaching the original word that looking up a word took too long. With that type of mind, how can there be wrong research?

And, in passing, the U. S. artist Audubon is known for his birds; few people remark or the accuracy of the botanical features that surround his birds.

[Andrea Penrose]

This is such a fascinating thought, Quantum. I've always been interested in the traditional healing properties of plants, but the stress/mental possibilities really open up a whole new range.

I do occasionally use essential plant oils from Neal Yard designed for focus and clarity when I write. Maybe it's the placebo effect, but I find it helpful (plus, it's just very pleasant!

In fact, you suddenly have me seeing a long-range plot thread to develop in the Wrexford & Sloane series, so thank you for the creative stimulation!

[Andrea Penrose]

That's SO true, Lillian. I find so many seemingly silly little details absolutely fascinating to know. I really think people miss out these days by having their focus buried in mindless tweets, rather than the rich tapestry of history!

[Andrea Penrose]

Thanks, Mary. Merian is such an interesing and immensely talented woman. I'm in awe of her curiosity and her artistic brilliance.

[Andrea Penrose]

All wonderful suggestions, Alison! We Wenches will cover some of these, I'm sure. (I know I will!)

[Andrea Penrose]

Ha—you're not the only one who found a dictionary a rabbit hole, Sue! I could really get distracted!

And that's so true about Audubon. I think when you are a careful observer, you can't help but to want to get it all right.

[Helen]

Andrea

That was very interesting and the photos are lovely and I grew up in a suburb called Bankstown which is named after Sir Joseph Banks after he was here in Australia with James Cook all those years ago and he and Matthew Flinders sailed up the Georges River.

For me I love knowing what plants can be used to cure illness

Thanks

have Fun

Helen

[Vicki L.]

As Sue and Lillian say - all rabbit holes are fascinating....

And as Mary T says, if something is bugging me enough, I go down the rabbit hole myself, though I will say someone else going down the hole separate from me will more than likely find information I didn't find.

I LOVE reading about other peoples rabbit holes because they are on topics that I wouldn't have thought of. So whatever any of you want to write about, I'm happy to read about.

[Andrea Penrose]

Helen, how fun that you have a connection to Banks!

The healing power of plants is a really fascinating topic. (Quantum mentioned the same thing in his comment above.) I will think about it. So stay tuned!

[Andrea Penrose]

Vicki, I love reading about other people's rabbit holes, too. Which is one of the reasons I love being part of the Wenches, and get to peek in their rabbit holes but here and on our group loop. We have some REALLY interesting conversations about all sorts of arcane topics.

[Kareni]

Thanks for an enjoyable post (and for the enjoyable comments, too). I've no specific suggestion; I'll doubtless think of one in ten days when you've all moved on!

[Andrea Penrose]

Yes, aren't the comments fun! Our readers are such a wonderful community! And please pass on any suggestion whenever you think of it! I'm always eager to hear suggestions.

[Kanch]

Yay! Love the knowledge I gain from this blog! I'd love to know more about etymology or the regency cant words and their origions.

Anything with food, how folks re-acted when encountering something from a distant shore. .

Also anything with economics and mercantile trading is also just fascinating!

[Annette N]

I must confess, I follow you down your rabbit holes....those footsteps you heard were mine.

At times, y'all introduce me to an idea or subject and give me a lead and the next thing I know it is 2 hours later because I have gone from site to site and followed questions I have.

I would love to learn about working women in the regency. Not the street women, but were there women who worked in a merchandising situation? Were there libraries with all librarians being men? Were secretaries always men?

I also would love to learn even more about the plants that were introduced to England. Were new plants introduced in the US? Were they all decorative or were new food items introduced to help crop production?

I love the horticultural prints you shared with us.

You lead me on wonderful adventures nearly every time I read this blog.