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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
This work of historical fiction weaves together the stories of strong women facing the challenges of their times. Venetia is designing the gardens of the Highbury House, working for the snobbish Melcourts. It is the early 1900’s, a time when a scandal could ruin a woman’s reputation, facing Venetia as she falls for the owners’ brother Matthew. The second story revolves around two women, Diana Symonds, a war widow in Highbury House which has been requisitioned for use as a hospital during WWII, and Beth, a land girl who is looking for a place to call home. Beth was orphaned at an early age, and felt unloved by her guardian. Lastly, we meet Emma in 2021, a landscape professional hired by a young couple to restore the Highbury House gardens to their original design. The stories are told in alternating chapters, with rich details of their eras, as well as beautiful descriptions of the various gardens. I loved the very English setting, and the stories of strong women who face challenges . I highly recommend this wonderful book, and thank NetGalley for the ARC.
4.25 stars. I loved this English garden centered story of different women through time and how they were connected.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
DNF. Too slow and I need something to get me out of my reading slump!
Stories of ambitious women told from present, 1907 and 1944 connecting to a special garden.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Grief, War
Based on the recommendation of an old colleague, I picked up a used copy of
I saw this book was the Community Read at the Philadelphia Free Library in conjunction with Longwood Gardens and that there will be an author event for it so I decided to give it a read. I’m glad I did. I’m excited for the author event which will be at the end of March.
The setting is Highbury House in England, set over three time periods, 1907, 1940s during WWII, and current time. All three stories are based around women and their roles the gardens at Highbury House as well as their roles in other aspects of life.
In 1907, Venetia Smith designs gardens for high society. She is currently working for the Melcourts designing a series of garden rooms. In the 1940s, Diana Symonds owns Highbury House, her husband has died in the war, she has a young son. Highbury House has been taken over as a military hospital and Diana’s sister-in-law, Cynthia, is the commandant. At a nearby farm, Beth Pedley, is a land girl who brings produce to Highbury House, becomes friends with Stella, the cook, and ends up in a romantic relationship with one of the soldiers at the hospital. Overall this time period was my favorite to read. In current time, Emma has been asked by Sydney and Andrew, the current owners of Highbury House, to restore the neglected gardens to what they once were. Emma is a fan of Venetia Smith’s work and dives into the history of the gardens and finds some secrets hidden about the family and Venetia while doing the restoration.
The book weaves back and forth between time periods and between the many different women’s points of view. It was interesting to compare and contrast how things have changed in some instances but in other ways stayed the same over the past 100 years when it’s comes to the expectations and experiences of women.
The only thing I initially didn’t like but by the end saw how it did go along with the overall themes of the book, was that one main character woman from each time period, Venetia, Beth, and Emma, started out as strong single women but ended up in romantic relationships by the end.
The setting is Highbury House in England, set over three time periods, 1907, 1940s during WWII, and current time. All three stories are based around women and their roles the gardens at Highbury House as well as their roles in other aspects of life.
In 1907, Venetia Smith designs gardens for high society. She is currently working for the Melcourts designing a series of garden rooms. In the 1940s, Diana Symonds owns Highbury House, her husband has died in the war, she has a young son. Highbury House has been taken over as a military hospital and Diana’s sister-in-law, Cynthia, is the commandant. At a nearby farm, Beth Pedley, is a land girl who brings produce to Highbury House, becomes friends with Stella, the cook, and ends up in a romantic relationship with one of the soldiers at the hospital. Overall this time period was my favorite to read. In current time, Emma has been asked by Sydney and Andrew, the current owners of Highbury House, to restore the neglected gardens to what they once were. Emma is a fan of Venetia Smith’s work and dives into the history of the gardens and finds some secrets hidden about the family and Venetia while doing the restoration.
The book weaves back and forth between time periods and between the many different women’s points of view. It was interesting to compare and contrast how things have changed in some instances but in other ways stayed the same over the past 100 years when it’s comes to the expectations and experiences of women.
The only thing I initially didn’t like but by the end saw how it did go along with the overall themes of the book, was that one main character woman from each time period, Venetia, Beth, and Emma, started out as strong single women but ended up in romantic relationships by the end.
For me this book was very hard to follow at times. Once I was able to separate them all in my mind, the story started to flow and the secrets became more interesting.
This book was odd in that I enjoyed it well enough while I was actively reading it, but I never felt like picking it up again. Not my thing, I guess.