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In: book development, feature, history

“Seek out gaps, as these offer opportunities for creativity”, said Hilary Mantel in her BBC Reith Lecture. I recognise this as the element which drew me towards my first biographical fiction novel. I hope botanists don’t rattle their vasculums, nor prospectors clatter their pans, in protest at my own version of history when they get their hands on GREEN GOLD.Continue Reading

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In: book development, feature, Green Gold, news

In 1849 an influential group of subscribers came together under the care of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) to sponsor a plant-hunter, John Jeffrey, and support his ambitious expedition to North America in 1850. But after his mysterious disappearance, just four years later, he was soon all-but-forgotten. I’m delighted to announce that the little-known exploits of John Jeffrey will be celebrated in public for the first time, fittingly in a new collaboration with RBGE.Continue Reading

An interactive Google Map showing the journey of John Jeffrey (1850-1854)

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In: books, feature, film, Green Gold, nature

John Jeffrey, the main character in my latest book Green Gold, walked, paddled and rode at least 10,000 miles across North America while hunting for plants from 1850-4. During the two years I spent researching and writing the book I plotted his travels in detail and can now publish the route in full for the first time.Continue Reading

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In: ecology, feature

In September 1852 young Scottish plant hunter John Jeffrey came across an attractive flowering plant in northern California. After samples were received by his sponsors at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh it was named in his honour.Continue Reading

Dartmoor forest by Gabriel Hemery

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In: feature, landscape, writing

For my short story in Arboreal (Little Toller Books, 2016) I decided to write from the perspective of an old man looking back on the transformation of Dartmoor due to the withdrawal of farming subsidies and application of visionary environmental policies. I drew a couple of sketches that didn’t make it into the book.Continue Reading