John H Taylor is an Assistant Keeper in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum. His expertise focuses on funerary objects of the pharaonic period (particularly coffins), mummies and mummification. He has curated a number of exhibitions at the British Museum, including ‘Journey through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead’ and ‘Ancient Lives, New Discoveries.’

Gary Tinterow has been Director of The Museum Of Fine Art, Houston since January 2012. He was curator of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for twenty years, before becoming curator in charge of the newly formed department of Nineteenth-Century, Modern and Contemporary Art in 2004 and chairman of that department in 2008.

Xa Tollemache learned how to garden, and how to design gardens, at her new home, Helmingham Hall in Suffolk. She set up her garden design practice in 1996, and one of the very first gardens she designed as a professional was the Evening Standard garden for the 1997 Chelsea Flower Show - for which she won a Gold Medal. She has since designed two more medal-winning gardens for Chelsea, as well as gardens all over the UK and in Europe and the US. She is currently a Member of the Council of the RHS, Chair of the Gardens Committee, a Member of the Horticulture Board and an RHS Judge.

Former City banker Sara Ward and her family live the good life complete with hens, bees, a fruitful kitchen garden and a micro bakery. They train and encourage others through their schools' programme and courses. Sara has written a monthly column for Country Living magazine and is a presenter at the Spring and Christmas Country Living Magazine Fairs. She has been featured in magazines and on television.

Cleve West is one of Britain’s top garden designers. No less than nine of the gardens he has designed for the Chelsea Flower Show have won RHS Gold Medals and two years running his gardens have been awarded Best in Show. He is also a passionate vegan and animal rights activist. His first book, Our Plot (Frances Lincoln, 2011), was described as ‘A joy to read, harmonious and humble, full of common sense and belief in community and sustainable living.’

Rex Whistler (1905-1944) was one of the most talented and intriguing painters of the twentieth century. He was also a superb draughtsman.

Kim Wilkie had an intense introduction to landscape. He grew up in the Malaysian jungle and the Iraqi desert before being sent to school in southern England. Having studied history at Oxford and environmental design at the University of California, Berkeley, he set up his landscape studio in London in 1989. He is fascinated by the link between land and culture and between memory and imagination. He continues to teach sporadically at Berkeley, writes optimistically about land and place and is involved in various national committees on landscape and environmental policy in the UK.

Martin Wood is a noted interior designer and writer on interior decoration. Previous books include Nancy Lancaster: English Country House Style (Frances Lincoln, 2005), John Fowler: Prince of Decorators (Frances Lincoln, 2007) and Sister Parish: American Style (Frances Lincoln, 2011) and On the Fringe, with Imogen Taylor (Pimpernel Press, 2016). Martin Wood lives in Yorkshire.