Universally studied for his writings on politics,

philosophy, morality and education, Jean-Jacques

Rousseau's interest in botany has been deemed

a mere curiosity. In this radical reinter pretation

Alexandra Cook demonstrates how this

seemingly marginal activity shaped and was

shaped by his philosophy.

Rousseau's botanical project was informed by his

belief in the superiority of nature over artifice

- a principle illustrated in his famous Lettres

élémentaires sur la botanique , in which he used

the 'natural method' of plant classification, a

ground-breaking system which would eventually

triumph over rival systems. Based on a wide

range of original sources, Cook traces and reassesses

Rousseau's botanical education, the

complex history of his plant collections, and

his participation in scientific correspondence

networks. She also reveals how his botanical

writings were manipulated and misinterpreted

following his death.

In this richly illustrated study, supported

by inventories of his botanical library,

correspondents and herbaria, Cook provides an

unprecedented insight into Rousseau's study and

practice of botany. Not simply an intellectual

pursuit, it became part of his physical and

psychological self-discipline, a precursor to

today's 'environmental therapy'.