It was the most improbably wise move any aristocrat has ever made. Impulsively, he invited Paxton to be head gardener at Chatsworth. The duke was hard of hearing and appreciated clarity of speech. The duke took an instant shine to Paxton, not so much, it appears, because Paxton showed any particular genius as because he spoke in a strong, clear voice. There one day he fell into conversation with the Duke of Devonshire, who owned neighbouring Chiswick House and rather a lot of the rest of the British Isles– some two hundred thousand acres of productive countryside spread beneath seven great stately homes. Born into a poor farming family in Bedfordshire in 1803, he was sent out to work as an apprentice gardener at the age of fourteen he so distinguished himself that within six years he was running an experimental arboretum at the new and prestigious Horticultural Society (soon to become the Royal Horticultural Society) in West London – a startlingly responsible job form someone who was really still just a boy. I adored this book and keep inserting trivia from it into daily conversation but, of all the amazing characters Bryson profiles, Paxton was by far my favourite. Reviewing my notes on books I have yet to review (an increasingly staggering number), I came along this delightful description of Joseph Paxton from At Home by Bill Bryson.
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