The Lost Garden: A Novel - Softcover

Humphreys, Helen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393324915 ISBN 13: 9780393324914

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003

Synopsis

This word-perfect, heartbreaking novel is set in early 1941 in Britain when the war seems endless and, perhaps, hopeless. London is on fire from the Blitz, and a young woman gardener named Gwen Davis flees from the burning city for the Devon countryside. She has volunteered for the Land Army, and is to be in charge of a group of young girls who will be trained to plant food crops on an old country estate where the gardens have fallen into ruin. Also on the estate, waiting to be posted, is a regiment of Canadian soldiers. For three months, the young women and men will form attachments, living in a temporary rural escape. No one will be more changed by the stay than Gwen. She will inspire the girls to restore the estate gardens, fall in love with a soldier, find her first deep friendship, and bring a lost garden, created for a great love, back to life. While doing so, she will finally come to know herself and a life worth living. Reading group guide included.

About this title

Review:

A graceful, poetic novel of love and loss in England during World War II.--Lee Milazzo

A story of longing, life and death--the stuff all great gardens are made of.--Catherine Newton

What brings Gwen to life and makes this novel work is Humphreys's meticulous, lucid prose.--Margot Livesey

Luminous...a stunningly beautiful little gem that lingers in the memory like the heady scent of a damask rose.--Karen Campbell

A beautiful evocation of love and loss...Subtle and deeply affecting...Rich and satisfying.

This is a book to read again and again.--Nancy Goodwin, author of Year in Our Gardens

Synopsis:

London is on fire from the Blitz, and horticulturalist Gwen Davis has fled the devastated city for a ruined estate in Devon to grow crops as a volunteer with the Women's Land Army. There, for the first time, she experiences true friendship, love and loss.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0393324915
• ISBN 13: 9780393324914
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 210