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Lady Tree Trilogy #1
The Lady Tree
A magnificent novel that vividly evokes the atmosphere of a seventeenth century English country estate, and the seething intrigue of Rembrandt's Amsterdam where the population is in the grip of a fever of tulip trading. It is the Summer of 1636. In England botanist John Nightingale hides from his dangerous past at Hawkridge House, deep in the tranquillity of the countryside. In Holland, the population is gripped by a fever of speculation. Fortunes are gambled on the commodity markets, trading in spices, grain and even rare tulips. Blackmailed into leaving Hawkridge to join an elaborate money-making scheme in Amsterdam, a city of frenzied greed and luxury, haunted by the ever-nearer demons of his past, and falling in love with two very different women, John Nightingale must learn quickly the ways of the world.
544 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1994
1 person is currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Christie Dickason
19 books53 followersI started to write at the age of three, long before I could spell. Understandably, I hid my poems and (very) short stories from my English professor father, who could spell words like ‘desiccate’ and also insisted on correct grammar. All the same, he passed on to me his delight in books and words as well as his joy in pursuing intellectual curiosity. Under his influence, I learned to relish research and value accuracy. (He also kick-started my interest in mountain climbing by putting his uncensored edition of Lady Chatterley’s Lover on the highest shelf of his study.)
While living abroad with my family for most of my teens, in Thailand, Mexico and Switzerland, I studied anywhere I could, from the International Children’s Centre in Bangkok, through home-tutoring, to an old-fasioned Swiss convent school. I went on to read English at Harvard University (BA, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa), then earned an MFA in Theatre at the Yale University Drama School (winning a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and the Shubert Memorial Fellowship for Best Director).
From the age of eleven, I also studied dance (and performed): ballet at the Lichine School in Lausanne, modern dance with a former member of Martha Graham’s company, Robert Cohan, and Thai classical dance with a retired member of the King of Thailand’s troupe. At the age of fifteen, I once found myself teaching Thai folk dance to the Thai Women’s Culture club in Bangkok. At the age of 23, I thought writing was far too much fun to be a serious way to earn a living, so I became a director and choreographer.
After fourteen years in the theatre (with the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Rocky Horror Show, Oh! Calcutta!, and at Ronnie Scott’s, among others) illness forced me to stop . While convalescing, I read a particularly dire paperback and decided in exasperation to see if I could do any better. Bed-bound and with L-plates on, I returned to my secret passion for writing and hand-wrote my first novel. This book was never published, but it brought me a commission for my ‘official’ first novel (THE DRAGON RIDERS, published by Century), which astonished me by reaching number twelve on the best-seller list. What had seemed at first like a health disaster led me ‘home’ into a new career that not only allows time to eat and sleep but also lets me do what I love most. (My illness also, when I was ready to deal with it, fuelled my historical novel, QUICKSILVER, about a supposed 17th c. 'werewolf'.)
As well as seven internationally-published novels (most recently THE PRINCIPESSA, I also write poetry, short stories, newspaper articles and works for the theatre. I particularly enjoy collaborating with the award-winning composer Cecilia McDowall on musical works ranging from conventional songs and cantatas to the huge and indescribable, all of which have been performed.
Our most recent project was a 'green cantata', FIVE SEASONS, commissioned ‘to celebrate the organic landscape in the 21st century’ by the Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir. And we are currently (2007) setting up a follow-on community music project in Cumbria.
As a change from my computer, I enjoy extreme trekking and scrambling in Bolivia and the Western Highlands of Scotland, organic gardening, cooking, eating and recreational talking with friends and family. I don’t think writers take holidays.
While living abroad with my family for most of my teens, in Thailand, Mexico and Switzerland, I studied anywhere I could, from the International Children’s Centre in Bangkok, through home-tutoring, to an old-fasioned Swiss convent school. I went on to read English at Harvard University (BA, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa), then earned an MFA in Theatre at the Yale University Drama School (winning a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and the Shubert Memorial Fellowship for Best Director).
From the age of eleven, I also studied dance (and performed): ballet at the Lichine School in Lausanne, modern dance with a former member of Martha Graham’s company, Robert Cohan, and Thai classical dance with a retired member of the King of Thailand’s troupe. At the age of fifteen, I once found myself teaching Thai folk dance to the Thai Women’s Culture club in Bangkok. At the age of 23, I thought writing was far too much fun to be a serious way to earn a living, so I became a director and choreographer.
After fourteen years in the theatre (with the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Rocky Horror Show, Oh! Calcutta!, and at Ronnie Scott’s, among others) illness forced me to stop . While convalescing, I read a particularly dire paperback and decided in exasperation to see if I could do any better. Bed-bound and with L-plates on, I returned to my secret passion for writing and hand-wrote my first novel. This book was never published, but it brought me a commission for my ‘official’ first novel (THE DRAGON RIDERS, published by Century), which astonished me by reaching number twelve on the best-seller list. What had seemed at first like a health disaster led me ‘home’ into a new career that not only allows time to eat and sleep but also lets me do what I love most. (My illness also, when I was ready to deal with it, fuelled my historical novel, QUICKSILVER, about a supposed 17th c. 'werewolf'.)
As well as seven internationally-published novels (most recently THE PRINCIPESSA, I also write poetry, short stories, newspaper articles and works for the theatre. I particularly enjoy collaborating with the award-winning composer Cecilia McDowall on musical works ranging from conventional songs and cantatas to the huge and indescribable, all of which have been performed.
Our most recent project was a 'green cantata', FIVE SEASONS, commissioned ‘to celebrate the organic landscape in the 21st century’ by the Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir. And we are currently (2007) setting up a follow-on community music project in Cumbria.
As a change from my computer, I enjoy extreme trekking and scrambling in Bolivia and the Western Highlands of Scotland, organic gardening, cooking, eating and recreational talking with friends and family. I don’t think writers take holidays.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 13, 2011
Set in the early part of the 17th century, at the height of "Tulipmania" this is a dense and rich piece of historical fiction. John Nightingale becomes caught up in the trade of tulips and the underground speculative society of Amsterdam. Amsterdam is so well-described I could smell it. Here fortunes hang on a bulb that could be an onion, or on the other hand could be a tulip worth millions. Nightingale has a past, and an enemy who casts a shadow over all his actions, and during the novel he meets two very different women, both of whom engineer a hold on his heart. Christie Dickason's style is like a rich tapestry, with similes galore and plenty of well-researched historical fact peppering every page. If Tracey Chevalier is nouvelle cuisine, then Christie Dickason is the full christmas banquet with crackers and all the trimmings. Both diets are highly recommended.
August 7, 2014
Set in the first half of the 17th century, "The Lady Tree" takes place both in England and the Netherlands (Amsterdam, in particular), during a bizarre phenomenon known as "Tulip Fever" (or sometimes Tulip Mania) -"a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed ...
At the peak of tulip mania, in March 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman" (Source: Wikipedia). How mental is that!?
In "The Lady Tree" Jonathan Nightingale, a young man with a dark and secretive past and who's hugely passionate about nature and gardening etc., gets caught up in the lucrative but definitely shady tulip trade. Complicating things are the facts that Jonathan's falling in love with two verrrrry different women, and that dodgy past I mentioned earlier? It's starting to catch up with him.
I love Christie Dickason's work, I think she's truly skilled at evoking the sights, sounds and smells of the places and people she's writing about. In "The Lady Tree" I loved her beautiful descriptions of the gardens at Hawkridge House in England, I felt that if I closed my eyes I could feel the sun on my face and smell the flowers.
At the peak of tulip mania, in March 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman" (Source: Wikipedia). How mental is that!?
In "The Lady Tree" Jonathan Nightingale, a young man with a dark and secretive past and who's hugely passionate about nature and gardening etc., gets caught up in the lucrative but definitely shady tulip trade. Complicating things are the facts that Jonathan's falling in love with two verrrrry different women, and that dodgy past I mentioned earlier? It's starting to catch up with him.
I love Christie Dickason's work, I think she's truly skilled at evoking the sights, sounds and smells of the places and people she's writing about. In "The Lady Tree" I loved her beautiful descriptions of the gardens at Hawkridge House in England, I felt that if I closed my eyes I could feel the sun on my face and smell the flowers.
August 15, 2011
Subtitled ‘A Novel of Intrigue, Passion and Tulips’, this novel is set in England and Holland in 1636 and is filled with a deep love of gardens and trees and flowers. Hawkridge House, the home of the hero John Nightingale, is created with such loving care that it feels as if it must be real. The novel isn’t just about gardens, though. There’s a murder mystery, blackmail, a love affair and a romance, and all the fever of tulip mania in 17th century Holland. A wonderful book.
July 27, 2012
I would re-read this book. i loved John. He was so real, but with human flaws. Inspiring that he listened to his heart & gut. I loved the way the author put her words together. Many sentences I re-read because her meaning was so true & to the point.
September 19, 2019
The attention to detail is amazing. A great historical fiction novel.
May 29, 2024
Interesting subject but plumped out with too much description/words. Got fed up half way through!
December 27, 2024
Fun story, I guess, if you’re not too disturbed by the „grown man desiring a 14-year-old but it’s ok because olden times, right?!” trope, written by a woman. Ick.
October 4, 2014
I loved this book - the nuances of character, and the combining of a deep passion for the simple life with a great adventure. And the bizarre nature of human greed that puts its faith in tulips! And we still want to believe in the latest bubble.
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July 23, 2011Not too impressed with this book I'm afraid! Story is okay, but didn't really warm to any of the characters, maybe I'm not a gardening type gal!
April 24, 2012
x-cellent
November 18, 2016
A great read, kept me interested to the last page. I'll be looking for other books by her.
April 28, 2021
A decent enough book, but didn’t like it enough to search out more by the author.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews