A review by gabmc
The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

4.0

I loved this beautifully written historical novel which ties together six women over three different timelines through a garden. In 1907 Venetia Smith, a famous garden designer of the time, designs stunning gardens for Highbury House (this would be the last garden she designed in England). In 2021 Emma Lovell has been hired by Sydney Wilcox to restore the magnificent gardens. And in 1944 Diana Symonds is the mistress of Highbury House which has now been converted into a convalescent hospital. Stella Adderton is the cook at Highbury and has dreams of a bigger life. Beth Pedley has just moved to the area as a Land Girl. She gets to know Stella as she delivers the vegetables to Highbury House. During the war, the gardens of Highbury have been requisitioned for the war effort, along with the house itself. Julia Kelly has meticulously researched the historical aspects of the novel and has based several characters, and Highbury House on real people and places. The women in this novel are all really strong characters, but all very different from each other.