A bookish bunch of flowers

 

     As October has begun ("ten o'clock and not a dish washed, forsooth....") it's time to give away some more reading matter because it's Buy a Friend a Book week again.
     I'll be choosing one of my favourite books and sending a copy to the reader whose name comes out of the hat in a few days' time. As usual, everyone is welcome to enter, no matter where in the world you are or whether you're a regular visitor here or have found us by chance.
     To be in the running, please leave a comment naming a book with a flower or flowers (specific or generic) in the title, and we'll see what kind of literary bouquet we end up with. If you find that others have got in ahead of you and all the books you'd thought of have already been mentioned, you could try ones with trees or shrubs (Justine Picardie's Daphne for instance) or you could even make one up and perhaps inspire a future work! I'll start us off with a few from my own shelves: Iris Murdoch's An Unofficial Rose and Rumer Godden's Black Narcissus, while the picture above comes from my ancient copy of Mary Wesley's The Camomile Lawn. But there must be hundreds of other 'floral' books out there, so have a think and leave a comment here by close of business on Sunday the 5th.

Good luck!

Comments

[Lizzie]

How about 'The yellow meads of asphodel' by H E Bates?
Or 'The scent of dried roses' by Tim Lott?
Both are in my tbr pile/heap/shelf.
Please put my name in the hat!

[Ros]

The Name of the Rose.

Crossing my fingers for the giveaway!

[Peta]

The Rose Of Sebastopol by Katherine McMahon and Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh.

[Marina]

I recently read and enjoyed A Wreath of Roses by Elizabeth Taylor.

And waiting patiently their turn on my TBR pile are

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
and
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda N Adichie.

I'd love to take part in the draw

[Simon T]

What a beautiful picture.

The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey is my choice - though I've yet to read it!

[Wendy Austin]

The White Oleander by Janet Fitch

[Harriet]

What about The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirezvani -- a book I have not read but which has just been highly recommended to me.

[Karin]

I'll suggest Rumpole and the Primrose Path as primroses are my favourite flower.

[m]

How about Tulip Fever (Deborah Moggach), then there's A Rose for Winter (Laurie Lee) and Rose in Bloom (Louisa May Alcott), or even Darling Buds of May (HE Bates).

[m]

Just thought of Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary (Ruby Ferguson)... roses seem to be the easiest to think of!

[Sarah]

Jasmine and Arnica, by Nicola Naylor (just because i love the scent of jasmine)

[rosie]

How about The Scarlet Pimpernel? Not really the sort of flower you'd put in a bouquet but I spotted some growing in a nearby field last week.

[Juxtabook]

Frost in May By Antonia White, also Wind in the Willows.

I bet the word Rose turns up most often in this!

I am also running a draw to which everyone is welcome, and thank you for your entry Cornflower.

[Claire]

The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald. Please put me in the hat.

[sherry]

Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach. Count me in, please.

[Pia]

I first thought of The name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, but someone already mentioned it....
So the only one that came to my mind was -
Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas.

[Racquel]

'Magic for Marigold' by LM Montgomery (pushing it I know with a chidlren's book!)

[Mary]

The Orchid Thief by Susan ORlean looks at the seductive world of orchidelirium!

[Cheryl]

Another Louisa May Alcott book and a favourite...Under the Lilacs.

[Susie Vereker]

A quick look reveals Apple Bough by Noel Streatfield, and From Palm to Pine by Marghanita Laski, (a biography of Kipling). Oh and The Danger Tree, by Olivia Manning and Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris. Empress Orchid by AnChi Min - oh dear, we've had orchid so I shall have to cheat and stick to the trees and shrubs.

[Linda C]

How about a favorite writer:
Rose Tremain
or
First line of a favorite book:"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."
Great idea!
Linda C

[carole]

Flowers for Mrs Harris by Paul Gallico.

[Carole]

I am too late for 'Flowers for Mrs Harris', or 'Tulip Fever', so I will go for Virginia Andrews 'Flowers in the Attic'!
Count me in as well, please!

[m]

Flash of inspiration ... Daisy Miller (Henry James) and, hauled up from long distant memory, how about Lavender Laughs in the Chalet School!

[Cindy]

How about Gardenias for Breakfast by Robin Jones Gunn, or Rose in Bloom and Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott?

[Tara]

I've come up with Empress Orchid and The Fruit of the Tree (Wharton).

Please enter me!

[rhonda L]

The Flower Boy by karen Roberts.Please include me in the draw!!

[Lesley]

How about HE Bate's The Darling Buds of May, Lisa See's Peony in Love or Alexandre Dumas fils' La Dame aux Camelias? Please add me to the list.

[Peter the Flautist]

"No Orchids for Miss Blandish" by James Hadley Chase. I know the flower has been used before but I think your rules refer to unique books!

Dark Puss

[carol]

I was going to say Blackberry Wine too, but I see that is already taken. How about Four Quarters of an Orange, by the same author Joanne Harris? I know its a fruit and not a flower but from where I am sitting right now I can see oranges on the trees - and in the spring the flowers have the most wonderful scent.

[Curzon Tussaud]

Oleander Jacaranda (Penelope Lively) The Tamarisk Tree (Dora Russell)Turn Left at the Daffodils (Elizabeth Elgin) and Dreaming Iris (John de Falbe)

[Terri - teelgee]

Lovely idea! Though, surprisingly few flowers in my catalog that haven't already been named. So I'll put forth The Secret Life of Bees - because, no bees, no flowers!

Please put me in the draw!

[Maureen]

It is difficult to think of one not already mentioned. How about Hardy's 'Under the Greenwood Tree'?

[Sarie]

The Flamboya Tree by Clara Olink Kelly. Please add my name for the draw.

[Nan]

Black Orchids by Rex Stout!

[m]

Marigolds nagged at me all afternoon - and then I remembered, Marigold in Godmother's House - which I absolutely adored as a child - by Joyce Lankester Brisley. I haven't seen it for 40-odd years but remember it as quite magical.

[Donna]

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, Lilies that Fester by Hazel Holt and The Daisy Chain by Charlotte M Yonge spring to mind.

Enjoy your blog immensely! Many thanks for the pleasure it brings.

[Jennifer]

Please add me to the draw!

I've found quite a few on my bookshelves and wishlist:
The Thistle and the Rose (Jean Plaidy), Poison Jasmine (Clyde B Clason), Black Iris (Constance & Gwenyth Little), Sad Cypress (Agatha Christie), Clover (Susan Coolidge), Carnation of the Upper Fourth (E.M. Brent-Dyer) and Margery Meets the Roses (Elsie Oxenham)

[Barbara MacLeod]

Snake Among the Sunflowers by Joan Lingard. Please count me in.

[Frances]

Flowers for Algernon by (I think) Daniel Keyes. Love the post today. Will gift a book tomorrow!

[Frances]

Oops. Offered a repeat because I did not at first see second page of comments. This is one popular post! A favorite children's book - Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff.

[Becca]

'Keep the Aspidistra Flying' by George Orwell!

[LINDA FROM EACH LITTLE WORLD]

I love your blog and have found many wonderful books here and on dovegreyreader. Reading all these titles has brought back so many pleasant memories — esp. Louisa May Alcott.

My offerings: The Last Kashmiri Rose (mystery by Barbara Cleverly),and The Black Rose (American Civil War by Howard Bahr). If trees are ok, then there's The Fir Tree (by Hans Christian Anderson) and The Country of the Pointed Firs (by Sarah Orne Jewett). And last, One Hundred White Daffodils (poetry by Jane Kenyon).

Please enter my name.

[Sarah]

As Daisy Miller's taken, The Orchid by Drusilla Modjeska.

[Octavo]

Lovely illustration with your post - is it by Michael Foreman?

My flowery contribution - Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal.

[Georgia K]

Probably not candidates for a bouquet, unless ... ?
The Day of the Triffids (John Wyndham)

[Lisa W]

How about The Wind in the Willows or Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery for both young and older readers?

[Nancy]

Add me to the draw. I have Oleander Jacaranda - and here are a couple that have been mentioned in the past on the E.F. Benson yahoo group:
Scarlet and Hyssop, by E.F. Benson
There's Rosemary, There's Rue, by Winifred Fortescue

[padma]

Indu Sundaresan "The Feast of Roses" which is really lovely!
James Patterson "Violets are blue"
Maeve Binchy "Lilac bus"
Please put my name in the hat, too!:)

[gautami tripathy]

How about Daffodils by Robert Frost?!

*grin*

Count me in!

[margaret 46]

I can't find any different titles from the above suggestions.
My favourite is:'The Thistle and the Rose.'
Please put my name into the draw.
Thanks.

[michelle]

Please include me in the draw - my flowery title is "Sea of Poppies" by Amitav Ghosh, a favourite writer of mine.

[Margaret Powling]

The Lilac & The Rose by Susan Tweedsmuir;
The Kingdom of the Rose by Margaret Bacon (which I loved);
Blackthorn Winter by Sarah Challis

Please include me in the draw for the book!

[Sarah]

From a quick look around my shelves:
Flowers on the Grass by Monica Dickens;
Mistletoe and Murder by Carola Dunn;
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber (well there is part of a flower);
The Prince in the Heather by Eric Linklater;
Queen of the Flowers by Kerry Greenwood;
Simon and the Oaks (questionable) by Maianne Fredriksson; and
Desert Flower by Waris Dirie.

I'd love to be part of the draw.

Sarah

[Lisa]

What about the Black Dahlia by James Ellroy? Sorry, I know it doesn't paint a very pretty picture, but it fits the category. Please put my name in the hat. :)

[m]

I feel rather pleased with myself for thinking of Nigella Bites!

[lynn]

An old favorite of mine 'Rose in Bloom' by Louisa May Alcott

[lynn]

An old favorite of mine 'Rose in Bloom' by Louisa May Alcott

[Kaitlyn]

'Under the Lilacs' by Louisa May Alcott and to stretch the association with flowers a little bit, 'Perfume' by Patrick Suskind. I'm probably too late for the draw, but thanks for a fun creative activity to help me procrastinate!

[Kaitlyn]

Oops, somebody already mentioned 'Under the Lilacs,' oh well. The Hazel Green books by Odo Hirsch were fun to read when I was growing up. Does that count?

[Fiberjoy]

Right on the shelf beside me, a non-fiction offering:From Garden to Palate by Cathy wilkinson Barash. It's too beautiful of a book to hide amongst the cookbooks.

[Fiberjoy]

Sorry,t the first part of the title disappeared in the previous comment. Title should read:

Edible Flowers: From Garden to Palate

[Carol]

How about An Unofficial Rose by Iris Murdoch or Bouquet of Barbed Wire by Andrea Newman.

Please add me to the list.

[Liz]

A favourite read of mine is "White Oleander" by Janet Fitch.

[Jennifer Dee]

'Blue Flower' by Penelope Fitzgerald. A wonderful book and would recommend this book to everyone who like good writing.

Jennifer Dee

[charlotte]

Does Thomas Hardy's "The Woodlanders" count?

[Kylie]

Not quite sure you could call it literature but...Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews! Ah, now that brings back memories of youth and being excited to be reading such a grown up book! *grin*

[Ruth]

My first thought was Under the Lilacs but several people beat me to that.

Black Narcissus - mentioned already.

Flowers on the Grass, also gone.

I didn't see Flowers for Mrs Harris or what about

Trouble with Lichen (well it is flora, rather than fauna!)

La Dame aux Camellias.
Red Azalea

[Betsy]

I do enjoy reading your blog--and love your photos. What an enjoyable game to play this evening. Some of my first thoughts have already been mentioned, but there are plenty left. There's the delightful children's story Lily's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes, and one of my favorite Nancy Drew books was The Password to Larksput Lane. For adult fare I offer a trio of trees: The Jacaranda Tree by H.E. Bates and The Juniper Tree and A Touch of Mistletoe by Barbara Comyns.

[lindsay bagshaw]

Les Fleurs du Mal - Baudelaire, and Black Tulip by Dumas

Love from Fiji!!

Lindsay

[Nicole (ikkinlala)]

I don't think Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary by Pamela Dean has been mentioned yet.

[Lucy D =)]

I can't decide on one, lol! There are lots of 'rose' ones: Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley and Wild Roses by Deb Caletti! ;)

[Charity]

This isn't an actual book, but my mum & I collect an old series of books called the Pansy series. :0) Please, throw my name in the hat!

[Maggie May]

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald

Please add my name to the hat also.

[emilysmother]

Your photos are wonderful! I love the black salvia discolor and have decided I must have it in my garden next year. As for a flowery book title: With Violets by Elizabeth Robards

[Tabitha]

Carnation of the Upper Fourth by Elinor M Brent-Dyer and Lavender Laughs in the Chalet School also by Elinor M Brent-Dyer.