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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Not bad, but too many main characters so it was difficult to feel super connected to any one character. I did like that women were depicted in many different roles and not just the traditional female role, but it jumped around between characters too much.
It’s very niche, you have to like BritLit. If Secret Garden was your favorite childrens book then you’re in the right place. Love a historical fiction narrative with strong(ish) female protagonists, so it’s a 4 for me.
medium-paced
Once I crossed the first 1/3 of this book, I had a hard time putting it down. The women and the challenges of each of their time periods swept me away.
I sketched out a character family tree to remember everyone and their relationships, and once that was complete I didn’t have too much trouble following the many people or their connections. But there were a lot of people.
The writing is very loose and not the most interesting. Scenes move quickly, lacking depth, but with 5 separate story lines to follow the pace had to be quick. The scenes never quite felt true to each of their times, but I can’t point to why. But it was still an easy and enjoyable read.
To fill in the depth of details for each the times, I accidentally imagined some settings and essence from other stories:
For Venetia, I imagined social norms from The Dictionary of Lost Words.
For Diana, Stella and Beth; I imagined Downton Abby and Call the Midwife and the book The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle.
For Emma, I Imagined an Amy Adams in Leap Year or Hillary Swank in PS I Love You. Somehow Emma was American in my mind.
The women and gardens of Highbury were easy to get lost in and I’m sad it’s over.
I sketched out a character family tree to remember everyone and their relationships, and once that was complete I didn’t have too much trouble following the many people or their connections. But there were a lot of people.
The writing is very loose and not the most interesting. Scenes move quickly, lacking depth, but with 5 separate story lines to follow the pace had to be quick. The scenes never quite felt true to each of their times, but I can’t point to why. But it was still an easy and enjoyable read.
To fill in the depth of details for each the times, I accidentally imagined some settings and essence from other stories:
For Venetia, I imagined social norms from The Dictionary of Lost Words.
For Diana, Stella and Beth; I imagined Downton Abby and Call the Midwife and the book The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle.
For Emma, I Imagined an Amy Adams in Leap Year or Hillary Swank in PS I Love You. Somehow Emma was American in my mind.
The women and gardens of Highbury were easy to get lost in and I’m sad it’s over.
I enjoyed this book. The really cared about the characters and what happened to them. They were entwined perfectly. I could picture the garden, although a map would've been very handy. The story of the garden was another character in the book that I was rooting for. I even liked the endings and they were all a little different. I will recommend this book to friends.
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
I love gardening, I love all things England, I love World War II stories, I love early 1900s stories, I love stories about women and their growth ~ I loved this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book which follows three different women from three different time periods who all are involved with a very special garden. Each the women face challenges and struggles as they find their own way forward. In 1907 Venetia Smith is hired by the owners of Highbury House estate to design the gardens. Decades later, widow Diana Symonds is dealing with the loss of her husband and her estate has been requisitioned by the government to house a military hospital. In present day Emma is hired to restore the gardens, and she searches for information to accurately recreate the gardens, she she begins to uncover secrets that have long lain hidden. This story was beautifully written, with stunning descriptions of the plants in the garden. If you enjoy historical fiction you will definitely enjoy this book
Fictional characters speaking truth about women and women's history.
Overall loved this book and would (and will) recommend it. I love novels that take place in Britian and I LOVE gardens. Visiting a grand manor house and garden in Britian is on my bucket list. Plus the stories of the women and the relationships they have and their own aspirations and dreams made it easy to like them all. Only reason i didnt give it 5 stars is because it was has hard to keep track of so many people from 3 different time periods...and how and what connected them. An index or family tree would have been helpful (although might give spoilers if everything is accurate on there). I made my own as I read and that was helpful.