Isabel Colegate’s book A Pelican in the Wilderness has some interesting stories and she tells them well. I am particularly grateful for the information towards the end about Holly Hill, a place that I will always remember fondly and in some ways aspire to.
The narrative that I found especially useful, however, was the connections she made between the eremitical tradition, the Romantic Movement and garden design. And it made me think: is the mature garden envisioned by Capability Brown and Inigo Jones really the garden of the Romantic?
And is this idealized perfect landscape also the world in miniature, or the wild wood tamed – and hence is it Outside in children’s literature?
nicktomjoe 