…a beautifully designed, eye-catching book…it's also as intricately made as Mary Delany's paper flowers. Peacock doesn't aim just to retell the sometimes chattellike, sometimes independent existence of an upper-class woman whose acquaintances ranged from Jonathan Swift and the naturalist Sir Joseph Banks to the King and Queen of England. Nor is she content simply to set up a counterpoint with her own background, career and second marriage…Instead, she weaves in and out between the two, using Delany's flower mosaics as the starting points for reflections on love, family, art, friendship, illness and vocation…Here, then, is not only an introduction to a unique artist, but also a whole bouquet of thoughts and observations about the flow of life…
—The Washington Post

…Peacock takes the reader on a journey that, however obscure or strange the link might be, is a graceful meditation on botany, nature, life and age…Delany's story abounds with energy as Peacock brings her alive. Like her glorious multilayered collages, Delany is so vivid a character she almost jumps from the page.
—The New York Times

“[A] graceful meditation on botany, nature, life and age...Delaney's story abounds with energy as Peacock brings her alive. Like her glorious multilayered collages, Delany is so vivid a character she almost jumps from the page."-New York Times Book Review” —New York Times Book Review

“A beautifully designed, eye-catching book...[The Paper Garden] is a celebration of second chances and the possibility -so attractive to those of a certain age - of an unexpected blossoming late in life....” —Washington Post

“This book layers Delany's life and work over Peacock's. It is organized by flower - forget-me-not, thistle, poppy, etc., each a metaphor for a different phase in Delany's life...the book itself is a complicated, delicate and beautiful collage.” —Los Angeles Times

“Possessed of a discerning eye, Peacock...lavishes attention on Mary's life, both social and artistic, drenching us in vivid, sensory language as if we were adrift in champagne.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Physically beautiful and emotionally transporting... To call The Paper Garden a biography is to sell it short...a sumptuous bounty of gorgeous words, striking mosaics and a spirit of joy.” —Chicago Tribune