Book Summary and Reviews of The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

Reader Reviews

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toni b

Strong, independent women
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of "The Last Garden in England " by Julia Kelly.

I had been reading quite a few books that take place during WWII and had even decided to take a break from this subgroup of historical fiction. I am quite glad that I was offered this book. This book actually covers 3 different time periods 1907, 1941. and present day. It is the tale of five strong women over 3 time periods whose lives are connected by one garden in England.

At first, it was a bit difficult to keep the people organized with the jumping from one era to another but as I got further in to the story, it all fell in to place and I actually enjoyed the time-jumping. It just took a bit of time for me to become comfortable with the actors or who-who's of each time period. Once I got to know each of the women, it was quite easy to get caught up in their lives. The story flowed well through the ages and restorations.Although each story was unique to its period setting, there were also similarities across their experiences, too. All of the women were fully fleshed characters who evolved quite organically . It was a quite fulfilling read to travel their evolution with them. It was impossible to read their stories without feeling empathetic to their plights and without cheering them on their final pages. All of the women are strong, independent ( even when they do not seem to be) women who tackle life's problems differently bit don't back down from a challenge. They would be women with whom you would wish to share a cup of tea.

I found the tale of the elaborate garden at Highbury House and its evolution over the decades to be interesting too. Not only its evolution, but the work going in to planting, tending and restoring it was fascinating to even a very amateur gardener such as myself. These English gardens are a fascinating piece of history in and of themselves.

I found this book to be an interesting addition to the historical fiction shelf. Even with WW2 books, it was nice to see a unique tale of the people left home rather than on the front. As I said, though, this is more than just the 1940's. It is interesting to see the lives and restrictions on women's lives and expectations and how they have changed over the years. Interesting to compare the differences yet similarities of women throughout time.

I would recommend this book to any who enjoy historical fiction, gardening and it's history and even women studies. I found it to be an enjoyable and even educational read. I learned much about gardens and the commandeering of estates during the wars in Britain.

Mel C-S

Odd errors
It was off-putting to find glaring mistakes, like, “she put her food in the stirrup.” I was surprised editing was so sloppy. The telling of the stories was quite similar to the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.