Humphry Repton (1752-1818) ambitiously styled himself Capability Brown's successor: the century's next great improver of landed property. With his rare combinations of skills - he was a talented topographical sketcher with an excellent knowledge of farming - over thirty years Repton amassed an incredible four hundred commissions, ingratiating himself with the aristocracy and raising the status of his adopted profession. His famous Red Books, illustrated to help clients visualize the potential of their estates, also did their part to encourage the appreciation of landscape aesthetics. With colourful illustrations and detailed site investigations, this book traces Repton's landscape designs from Picturesque wildernesses like Blaise Castle to the progressive Gardenesque style of Wanstead House in Greater London. It is both a perfect visitor's guide to the gardens and an introduction to the theory of Repton's work.

Laura Mayer holds a PhD in eighteenth-century landscape and lectures on Humphry Repton and Capability Brown for the University of Buckingham. She is the author of Humphry Repton and co-author of The Historic Gardens of England: Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely.