Book Review: The Victorian Fern Craze

The Victorian Fern Craze
by Sarah Whittingham
Shire Books, 2009
62 pages

Pteridomania was the term used for the Victorian craze for collecting, displaying and growing ferns. The word was devised by author Charles Kingsley in 1855 to describe the fevered interest in ferns that reached its heights in England in the 1840-1890 period.

Ferns had been valued through the centuries for their beauty and medicinal attributes. People also were fascinated with the mysterious way ferns reproduce through the production of spores, not seeds. But it was only in the 19th century - concurrent with the rise of an educated, urban middle class, of the idea of leisure activities and hobbies, and of botany and scientific publications - that ferns and fern collecting became a part of popular culture.

 Fern mania was something that everyone could participate in - whether you went on expeditions to Devon and other places where ferns could be gathered, or merely enjoyed them in the new ferneries in greenhouses open to the public. And at home, fern enthusiasts could have small Wardian cases (named for their inventor, amateur naturalist Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward) for displaying and growing ferns in the urban Victorian parlor. The Wardian case kept ferns safe from urban air pollution, and allowed the middle class family in a suburban villa to enjoy a miniature version of the wealthy family's fern grotto or fernery. Below right is an illustration featuring some Wardian cases; they came in many styles, ranging from plain boxes to elaborate cases resembling miniature Brighton Pavilions.

Sarah Whittingham's book is a fascinating, lavishly illustrated look at this fern craze, examining social factors such as the rise of the amateur, middle-class urban gardener, the wealth of botany books and periodicals that sprang up in the mid-Victorian period (many specifically devoted to ferns) and to the fern as a popular motif in decorative art - pottery, greeting cards and even designs on buildings.

I enjoyed this book very much; it is well written and beautifully illustrated and packs a great deal of information into 60-odd pages. I had never heard of Pteridomania and knew nothing about ferns and was thus informed at the same time as being entertained - just as the Victorians would have wanted! In addition, this is the first book to deal exclusively with the Victorian fern phenomenon in almost forty years, and as such is a wonderful addition to any collection of books dealing with the history of botany, or of Victorian popular culture. 

Image of Wardian Cases (1870) from NYPL Digital Gallery and from Wikipedia; image of woman cutting ferns (1820) also from NYPL Digital Gallery.

NOTE: In the interest of full disclosure, Shire Books sent me this book for free; the review and opinions therein, however, are entirely my own.