Author picture

Jane Duchess of Northumberland

Author of The Poison Diaries

4 Works 98 Members 4 Reviews

About the Author

Disambiguation Notice:

Please do not combine this author page with that of Elizabeth, the 18th century Duchess of Northumberland.

Works by Jane Duchess of Northumberland

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Other names
Percy, Isobel Jane Miller Richard
Northumberland, Isobel Jane Miller Percy, Duchess of (LC Authority)
Birthdate
1957
Gender
female
Nationality
UK
Birthplace
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Places of residence
Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, England
Syon House, London, England, UK
Occupations
businesswoman
aristocrat
Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland
horticulturist
children's book author
Short biography
Isobel "Jane" Miller Percy, née Richard, Duchess of Northumberland, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, a daughter of Angela, Lady Buchan-Hepburn and her husband John Richard. As a child, she helped her mother maintain Kailzie Gardens, a family business. She attended Cobham Hall in Kent. At age 16, she met 17-year-old Lord Ralph Percy and later followed him to Oxford University, where she took a secretarial course. They married in 1979 despite opposition by both sets of parents, and had four children. She became Duchess of Northumberland when her husband succeeded as the 12th Duke in 1995. She's best known for renovating the vast garden at the 14th-century family seat of Alnwick Castle in England, a location for two Harry Potter movies. It has become a tourist attraction nicknamed the Versailles of the North and includes a famous walled Poison Garden with 100 varieties of toxic plants. She has written The Poison Diaries (2006) and The Duchess of Northumberland’s Little Book of Poisons, Potions and Aphrodisiacs (2013). In 2009, she was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland by Queen Elizabeth II, the first woman to receive this distinction.
Disambiguation notice
Please do not combine this author page with that of Elizabeth, the 18th century Duchess of Northumberland.

Members

Reviews

‘The Poison Diaries’ is a book for children- and adults. The story is short- an abusive apothecary takes on a young boy named Weed as an assistant and puts him in charge of the poison garden- but it works as a fairy tale, has a moral, and is an emotional story. It’s the illustrations that are so marvelous, along with information on the poisonous plants that’s included. As Weed tends the poison garden, the plants take turns speaking to him, telling him their tales and their medicinal and toxic uses- and their hatred of the apothecary. It’s a dark tale, and the illustrations are dark, too- even the brightest pages have a pale gray wash on them.

Some reviewers have said that they didn’t think this would be a good book for children, but I know I would have loved this book when I was in elementary school, and I know a lot of others who would feel that way. It’s in the same vein as many of the tales in the various books of fairy tales; they get pretty bloody and grim and kids love them.
… (more)
 
Flagged
lauriebrown54 | 3 other reviews | Feb 10, 2017 |
I want this book badly! I have a thing for gardens!
 
Flagged
mrsdanaalbasha | 3 other reviews | Mar 12, 2016 |
The Poison Diaries
by The Duchess of Northumberland
Illustrations by Colin Stimpson

Story Title: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Ending: 3/5

Synopsis:
Weed is an orphan, taken in by the local Apothocary and taught the ways of medicine. One day, a world of poison plants is revealed to him... but... what's this? The plants can talk... and boy-oh-boy do they have things to say.

Character Likability:
Weed: Weed is... a bit... er, touched in the head. He's not quite right, and as the book progresses, you see as much. He's an interesting, dark character.
The Plants: Wicked, evil and with one track minds... and yet, not wicked and evil because all they are truly doing is utilizing their own defense mechanisms. Truly they are hellbent against humans though... and truly revel in the demise of them.
The Apothocary: Awful man. He's meant to be, though, so he's a good character.
Marigold: An Innocent, and pretty vague... she shows up in passing and is what roots Weed to a life of non-evil.

Quality of Writing:
Very interesting story... at times, I felt the story was a little jumpy... the main character waffling between good and bad without any really good reason... but overall it was cohesive and fast flowing.

Ending:
A very dark, disturbing ending. I enjoy dark and disturbing, so I liked it, but I'm not sure this ending, or this book would be something everyone can handle. If you are disturbed by gore, horrible deaths, and them being both described and illustrated... I would recommend you pass on this book all together.

Plot:
Essentially, this is the story of a young boy slowly going mad. It's dark, disturbing, filled with awful deaths, horrible murders and the worst side of humanity. *I* found it fascinating... I especially found it fascinating that I found this book in the Children's section. It has detailed diagrams of VERY poisonous plants... diagrams that proceed to point out which parts are the poisonous ones, and how to use them to kill people. It also has vivid descriptions of how the poisons act on the body, and in what horrible ways they will make you die. Interestingly, it also tells you how they are used medicinally.
In this story, Weed (the boy) talks to the plants, and the book itself is broken down into short stories based on which plant he's talking to. Each plant is hilarious, and has it's own distinct personality... and tells Weed some terrible story of how it helped kill someone. Often it is accompanied by very graphic illustrations (I bought the book because I opened up to this page randomly:

Go here to see pic: http://littlesqueed.blogspot.com/2010/11/review-poison-diaries.html

and wondering just what kind of kids book this was!!) Turns out, its a book I'm not sure I'd ever give to an actual child... and a book that might possibly be rather dangerous in the hands of most adults. I personally think this book is dark, twisted, and fantastic... but it most certainly isn't for those with weak stomachs or low tolerance for *really* horrible things happening.

Believability of World:
It seems to be set in 'olden days' ... and I'm not sure how hard it is today to track some of these poisons.

Illustrations:
This book is beautiful. Hands down one of the prettiest books I've seen in a while, despite its content. The illustrator is a Disney artist who has worked on things like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Emperor's New Groove and Tinkerbell. The illustrations are top-notch and seriously beautiful, even when they're absolutely disturbing.

Overall Grade: A (SERIOUSLY, if you don't like graphic violence, don't read this book. It depicts, as you can see, vomiting and horrible death, and describes them vividly in the text)
… (more)
 
Flagged
littlebearries | 3 other reviews | Nov 17, 2010 |

Statistics

Works
4
Members
98
Popularity
#193,038
Rating
4.1
Reviews
4
ISBNs
3

Charts & Graphs