Wynne Brown—The Forgotten Botanist: Sara Plummer Lemmon's Life of Science and Art

THE FORGOTTEN BOTANIST:
SARA PLUMMER LEMMON’S LIFE OF SCIENCE AND ART
Wynne Brown
Bison Books/University of Nebraska Press, Nov 1, 2021; $27.99
Print ISBN: 9781496222817, ebook (PDF): 9781496229472

Brown reports:

In 2009, I learned that Southern Arizona’s Mount Lemmon was named for Sara Lemmon, a botanist who climbed the mountain in 1881 at age 44 while on her honeymoon.

Who wouldn’t be intrigued?

Several years later, I visited the University of California and Jepson Herbaria Archives in Berkeley to examine the material they had on Sara and John Lemmon. Once I discovered it included 1,200 pages of Sara’s handwritten letters, I knew I’d found a treasure. That was even before I saw the two boxes of Sara’s exquisite botanical illustrations, many of which were terribly damaged. I traveled to Berkeley twice more to photograph every page of the letters and hired a local art conservator to assess the watercolors while I photographed them.

While reading those letters I realized what a gutsy, determined, and multi-talented woman Sara was, and how fiercely determined I was that she not remain forgotten. As I started to weave the narrative of her little-known accomplishments, I began sending out proposals to agents, publishers, and presses, tailoring them to each recipient, 24 in all. I was working fulltime as a freelance writer/editor/graphic designer and eventually received a small advance and funding from two foundations that helped cover my research and travel.

Even though I have all the editorial and design tools to produce books, I wanted this particular story to have the heft of a traditional press behind it. While attending the 2018 NonfictioNOW conference in Phoenix, I met a University of Nebraska Press acquisition editor and signed a contract with UNP in October 2019.

Two years later UPS delivered The Forgotten Botanist: Sara Plummer Lemmon’s Life of Science and Art. I couldn’t be more pleased with every aspect of working with UNP!

This isn’t my first book, but it’s by far the most complex and far-reaching. Sometimes not knowing what you’re plunging into is a good thing. Had I known what I was in for, I’d have said, “No way do I have the time or ability to pull this off....”

My advice? If a topic grabs you and won’t let go — follow it. And don’t give up!

Contact info:

• Wynne Brown, 520-360-9392, wynne@wynnebrown.com, https://wynnebrown.com/, @wynnebrown2
• Book: https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/9781496222817/
• Publicist: Jackson Adams, 402-472-3632, jadams30@unl.edu

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