apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've done some minor research into Florence Broadhurst and I'm quite a fan. I'm not involved in interiors by profession, but I am a knitwear productionist and designer, so I feel I can give a valid review. I also was once a fact checker and editorial assistant for a publication, I may need some fine tuning, but I think I would give a well written and concise review.

One of the reasons that I was first drawn to her work is that I grew up with similiar wallpaper throughout a suburban home that was built by my great-grandfather. Not only is Florence's work impressive, her life story is fascinating, including her entrepreneurialship as a woman.

It will be easy to go on and on about how the biographer portrays Broadhurst's life, work and method but I assure you I can keep the review to an interesting, informing minimum.

Pick me!

I already read this book and loved it. what is wrong with you AT editors? Do you need the cliff notes?

PS: am I supposed to leave my email in the comments? I don't recall if we registered our emails when we signed up.

I could use some literary enrichment. I'm home 24/7 with 3 boys under the age of 7: not too many opportunity for enticing conversations. I believe my brain is going into permanent hybernation, otherwise.

Yes, I need the reading!

I would LOVE to review the book. I used to work in a space covered with her papers and have been a fan ever since.
I would also like to read the book because in my prior research on her, I read that she was brutally murdered and I would be interested to know if the book has anything to say about that..... what could be better? great design and a mystery ending all in one?????

ME ME ME!!!!

i can pick it up sunday.
Kristian

I read apartmenttherapy constantly and I have a nagging passion for design, but my career is in book publishing. From my work as an editor I have extensive experience evaluating books and writing about them. I can write concisely and I'm very familiar with the format and style of a review.

It would be a true pleasure to use these skills to evaluate a book I'm ACTUALLY interested in. Florence Broadhurst is such an eccentric character that I'm sure this biography will be an incredibly rich read.

I absolutely love Broadhurst's prints, and I so look forward to the day when I might actually have the liberty to use wallpaper on my own walls.

Maxwell, I’d be delighted to oblige.

Growing up in a bedroom covered in “”Japanese Bamboo” wallpaper, Ms Broadhurst can be held singlehandedly responsible for my obsession with all things Asian, my grand passion for design and colour (fuscia! turquoise! lime green! heavenly yellow!) , and my appreciation for the cheeky, curious streak that we “Aussie girls” all seem to share. Ms Broadhurst can lay claim to being one of a handful of women who inspired me to travel and work Asia (Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia), which has resulted in my highly developed sense of aesthetics, a keen eye for design and active support for a number of artists and designers working in Asia and Europe.

My passion for design, coupled with an inate understanding of what it means to be an Australian, a MA in women’s studies and of course an obsession with AT ;) ….. who better to write a short, pithy and eloquent review than this Aussie gal?

(Oh, did I mention the my recent attendance at a speed reading course? ;)

This, simply put, is my dream book.

I work as a fashion designer and prints are a huge part of my life. I don't care if they go on the walls, on clothing, on pillows or on windows. I don't discriminate, I love them all equally. My boyfriend will attest to the enormous vintage fabric collection I have, which I sometimes sift through for the inspiration alone.

I am also a bit of a murder/mystery geek, to the point where I chose to take a course entitled "Literary Works in Detective Fiction" as one of my electives while in university. No one told me you're supposed to pick easy courses for your electives. Oops.

Learning more about this woman would be like combining two of my great loves and creating one big happiness explosion, plus that book would look really great displayed on my shelf.

I am so over Florence Broadhurst. She was an eccentric creature and a brilliant marketer. She was not, however, a designer, as the biography so clearly explains. The photographs of her in the studio "designing" wallpaper were merely publicity shots in which her staff artists were whisked out of sight to make way for nearly blind Mrs Broadhurst, who sat down and began to look all arty. Nonetheless, her company was interesting, the book juicy and scandalous (if a bit leadenly written), and the life, well, pure soap opera. As for the Mercurochrome-colored hair, enough said.

I know absolutely nothing about Florence Broadhurst. But I often judge a book by its cover, and the aforementioned cover looks intriguing.

I am willing to bring a clean, untainted viewpoint to this review. No former biases.

I'd love to review this book because when I'm done with it, it would look great on my green table.