**Edith Holden *was an avid artist and sometime art teacher who was born in Birmingham in 1871. Just over 100 years after her birth, her Nature Notes from 1906 were published in a fascimile edition as The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady *. It became a worldwide phenomenon, selling more than a mil...

**Edith Holden *was an avid artist and sometime art teacher who was born in Birmingham in 1871. Just over 100 years after her birth, her Nature Notes from 1906 were published in a fascimile edition as The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady *. It became a worldwide phenomenon, selling more than a million copies in its first year of publication. Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century, Edith became an accomplished artist, exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1907 and 1917. Her life was cut tragically short in 1920, when she was out collecting flower specimens in Kew Gardens and drowned in the River Thames. Her timeless legacy, though, has inspired many generations of botanical artists and students of nature with her attention to detail and delicate style.