The Palm House at Kew has been one of Britain's most popular attractions since it opened in 1848 - this is the story of its creation and the men whose vision it was.

'A glorious green adventure story.' Ann Treneman, The Times 'Books of the Year'

'The most enthralling historical book I’ve read this year.' Claire Tomalin, New Statesman 'Books of the year'

Daringly innovative when it opened in 1848, the Palm House in Kew Gardens remains one of the most beautiful glass buildings in the world today.

Seemingly weightless, vast and yet light, the Palm House floats free from architectural convention, at once monumental and ethereal. From a distance, the crowns of the palms within are silhouetted in the central dome; close to, banana leaves thrust themselves against the glass. To enter it is to enter a tropical fantasy. The body is assaulted by heat, light and the smell of damp vegetation.

In Palace of Palms, Kate Teltscher tells the extraordinary story of its creation and of the Victorians’ obsession with the palms that filled it. It is a story of breathtaking ambition, of scientific discovery and, crucially, of the remarkable men whose vision it was. The Palm House was commissioned by the charismatic first Director of Kew, Sir William Hooker, designed by the audacious Irish engineer, Richard Turner, and managed by Kew’s forthright curator, John Smith, who battled with boilers and floods to ensure the survival of the rare and wondrous plants it housed.

"The most enthralling historical book I’ve read this year." - New Statesman 'Books of the year'

"Teltscher skilfully brings to life the human story behind the growth of Kew and the creation of its extraordinary centrepiece. What's more remarkable, however, is her command of the details of the new technology that went into the construction of the Palm House . . . she makes such matters unexpectedly fascinating." - Literary Review

"A fascinating and rip-roaring account of the building of one of the great – and experimental – glass buildings of the Victorian age." - Daily Telegraph

"A glorious green adventure story." - The Times 'Books of the Year'

"Stories of botanical exploration are combined with biographies of the characters behind the famous building, transporting the reader to 19th-century London and the countries that supplied the palms for the glasshouse. One can only marvel at the scale of the achievement and feel humbled by how much we owe to the enslaved peoples who enabled countless plants to be brought to our shores from the colonies." - Sunday Times

"The fascinating story of one of the greatest showpieces of Victorian Britain: the Palm House in Kew Gardens." - Spectator

"The story of the creation of the Palm House and the men whose vision it was, are engrossingly told." - Choice Magazine 'Hardback Book of Month'

"I stand corrected by this exhilarating book - but also delighted, astounded and vastly entertained . . . This is gardening history at its best - a sparkling window on the colourful and contradictory Victorian era." - The Garden

"Lively . . . vividly drawn . . . Wearing her research lightly, Teltscher tells her tale of politicking and financial wrangles, domestic tragedies and epic plant hunting expeditions with a pace and vibrancy more commonly found in novels than in academic study." - Gardens Illustrated

"Kate Teltscher skilfully distils the historical facts of the creation of the Palm House into a piece of storytelling that is difficult to put down." - English Garden

"Truly, this is a work of which all interested in the history of natural history and the history of botany should immediately take note." - The Well-read Naturalist

"The story of its [the Palm House's] creation and the plant collections in it encompass all the qualities that make a great story: personal ambition, disagreements, eccentricity, struggles, fashions, fights and ultimately a building that triumphs." - This England