The Language of Fruit

"[A] wide-ranging and informative book, which promises to enrich the field of postcolonial ecocriticism . . . Bellamy's methodological gambit is impressive, building upon historicist approaches to agrarian discourse as well as the recent insights of ecocriticism."—Modern Philology

"Bellamy incorporates an ambitious array of horticultural texts, agricultural treatises, poems, plays, and novels into a nuanced discussion of the significance of fruit throughout English literary history . . . [and] demonstrates her facility with close reading and analysis across genres, producing a volume that is enjoyable and insightful in equal measure . . . The expertise she reflects not only in literary analysis but also in the history of horticulture from the medieval period to the Romantic period and beyond makes this book shine. A valuable and brilliant contribution to the study of literature in England."—Eighteenth-Century Fiction

"[A] fascinating work of ecocriticism, illustrating how fruit has been meaningful in the English imaginary over time. In richly detailed prose Bellamy provides insights both diachronic and synchronic, tying together the ways that fruit husbandry in general, and particular fruits such as pears, oranges, pineapples, and melons-as represented in works of literature-convey information about the contemporary society of the authors."—Choice

"Bellamy’s Language of Fruit is an enlightening study of the intertwined fortunes of fruit growing and the subtle ways in which depictions of particular fruits convey meaning in literary texts. The insights in this book are subtle but effective. For example, we would have known that Pinchwife’s objection to Horner squeezing his orange equated Margery with an eroticized fruit popular at the theater. Still, the particular cultural meaning of the orange as an expensive treat, an Iberian import, an occasional hothouse product, and a lucrative business for a woman proprietor makes a difference in the way we see this moment."—Restoration Journal

"Interweaving a bounty of historical details, in-depth literary readings, and engaging illustrations, Liz Bellamy tells a fascinating story about the evolution of raising, eating, thinking, and writing about fruit in the long eighteenth century."—Rebecca Bushnell, University of Pennsylvania