There are few themes more central to the English literary tradition than the garden. Writers of all periods - whether poets, novelists, essayists or diarists - have been inspired by gardens, real or imaginary. This book, based on the themes of the exhibition, explores the writer's expression of man's relationship with nature, the search for a lost paradise and the concept of beauty, as well as the political and social significance of the garden. Commencing with the Garden of Eden, this book shows how the concept of nature has changed over the centuries. The pursuit of a natural order, a cure for social and emotional ills through nature and the restoration of the Garden before the Fall are all themes that have been explored by the writers featured here, including Alexander Pope, John Keats, Edward Lear and Vita Sackville-West, through not only their writing, but also their gardens. Illustrated with maps, drawings and manuscripts in the writer's own hand, many of which feature in the 2004 British Library exhibition on this theme.