England has perhaps the most perfect orchards in the world, and this book is a celebration of the supreme loveliness of the English apple. In 142 sensuously detailed watercolors, Rosie Sanders depicts the unrivaled range of form, color, and texture that characterize such varieties as the Beauty of Bath, the Peasgood Nonsuch, Cox's Orange Pippin, and the Egremont Russet. The apples are shown together with their blossom, twig, and leaf, and a detailed description records their shape, color, aroma, and season, as well as something of the history of each variety. Marginal line drawings of each apple in cross-section and its pip formation complete a comprehensive guide to identification and a source of inspiration for apple growers. Its usefulness is enhanced by a practical essay on apple growing by Harry Baker, fruit officer for many years at the Royal Horticultural Society and one of Britain's foremost authorities on apple growing.