"The Metamorphosis of Plants, originally published in 1790, was Goethe's first major attempt to describe what he called in a letter to a friend "the truth about the how of the organism." Inspired by the diversity of flora he found on a journey to Italy, Goethe sought a unity of form in diverse structures. He came to see in the leaf the germ of a plant's metamorphosis - "the true Proteus who can hide or reveal himself in all vegetal forms" - from the...

How to pay and return formal 'calls'; how to refuse a proposal of marriage; who should lead off the dancing at a country-house ball; what to wear for a morning walk... Today such social niceties are largely ignored or forgotten, but they underpin all of Jane Austen's timeless novels and are explored and dealt with in this highly original book.
Written as if intended for Austen's original readers in the Regency era, and illustrated with exquisitely...