Mary Delany (nee Granville, 1700 88) is best known for her cut-paper illustrations of plants she completed nearly 1,000 of these botanical pictures. Widowed after an unhappy first marriage, she lived in London, attended court, and was a favourite of George III and Queen Charlotte. After being widowed for a second time, and at the age of 74, she began her plant illustrations: failing eyesight caused her to abandon the work in 1784. Delany knew many of the leading cultural figures of the eighteenth century, including Handel and Swift. An enthusiastic correspondent, she wrote and received...