John Evelyn

"In a letter to Sir Thomas Browne about his proposed magnum opus on gardens, John Evelyn stated his purpose "to refine upon some particulars, especially concerning the ornaments of Gardens, which I shal endeavor so to handle that persons of all conditions and facilities, which delight in Gardens, may therein encounter something for their owne advantage". In his Elysium Britannicum, or The Royal Gardens, Evelyn indeed produced a rich document, an assemblage of the horticultural knowledge and wisdom of the seventeenth century. An intriguing intellectual whom many have called a virtuoso, Evelyn was a garden designer, a noted author and translator of garden books, and a founding member of the Royal Society in 1660, where experimental science was at the heart of intellectual debate. Interlacing in his work practical, literary, and philosophical approaches to landscape architecture, Evelyn created the first large-scale encyclopedic work on the science and art of gardening."--BOOK JACKET.

The diary of Philip Henslowe, owner of the Rose Theatre in London during the 1590s, remains the most valuable source of information about the workings of the Elizabethan public theatres. Discussions of theatres and drama in the age of Shakespeare routinely refer to Henslowe, whose 'diary' touches on every aspect of the day-to-day operations of the Rose and the companies of actors, especially the Admiral's Men. The diary preserves the account-book of an Elizabethan theatre owner who was also the father-in-law of the leading actor, Edward Alleyn, and contains many miscellaneous and personal entries. The first edition of Henslowe's Diary, published in 1961, has long been out of print. It provides a thorough introduction to the manuscript, a full transcription of the document itself and several helpful appendices and indexes. For this second edition one of the original editors, R. A. Foakes, has added a new preface and reading list.